Bryan Bryson, PhD
Engineering the host-pathogen interface
Combining new technologies with classical approaches, we are focused ultimately on the goal to manipulate the immune system to improve bacterial control.
Staff
Research:
Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains one of the world’s most deadly bacteria resulting in infection in nearly a third of the global population and millions of deaths per year. Recent advances in our understanding of tuberculosis infection demonstrate that infection within a given individual is highly heterogeneous; however, the determinants that drive lesions towards complete bacterial sterilization remain poorly understood. We are interested in developing new tools to dissect the complex dynamics of bacterial infection at a variety of scales ranging from single cells to infected animals sitting in both “reference frames” by taking both an immunologist’s and a microbiologist’s perspective. Combining new technologies with classical approaches, we are focused on answering a critical question: “how can we manipulate the immune system to improve bacterial control?”
Areas I Research
Biography:
Professor Bryan Bryson obtained an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and a PhD in biological engineering at MIT. He then went on to pursue postdoctoral training with Sarah Fortune at the Harvard School of Public Health where he became interested in understanding how to leverage modern approaches in biological engineering to contribute to our understanding of tuberculosis pathogenesis.