INFECTIOUS DISEASES SEMINAR SERIES

Dr. Moon Hea Nahm

Professor

The Clinical Immunology Laboratory

Departments of Pathology and Microbiology

University of Alabama at Birmingham

“Interactions between pneumococcal capsule and host immunity”

Time: 10:30 am, October 24(Thursday)

Place: Medical Science Building B321

Host: Dr. Jingren Zhang

Abstract

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a major human pathogen with polysaccharide capsule. The capsule is the primary virulence factor in as much as the non-capsulated pneumococci are almost avirulent. Pneumococcus has been known to express about 90 different capsule types until we began to discover new pneumococcal capsule types several years ago. We found that one new capsule type (6C) has become much more common following the use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, which provide immune protection against the capsule types in the vaccine. Our studies also revealed micro-evolution of pneumococcal capsule types in a host during the invasion from the nasopharynx to blood. This microevolution is presumably driven by the host innate immunity and this observation may explain why certain pneumococcal capsule types are less invasive than others.

Light Refreshments will be served!!!

Background

The Centre for Infectious Diseases Research is holding a weekly seminar series. The seminars will be a great opportunity to hear speakers from both within and outside China speaking on a variety of subjects of interest to all those engaged in microbiology/immunology and allied disciplines. The coordinator of the seminar series is Babak Javid, and he would be delighted for fellow faculty to get in touch with regards to possible speakers to invite.

The seminars will also be of great interest to graduate students in life sciences, so we would appreciate PIs encouraging their students and post-docs to attend. By way of encouragement, we will be providing light refreshments to attendees.

If you are interested in meeting with the speaker, please email Babak Javid atbjavid@gmail.com.

We hope that this seminar series will prove to be a valuable addition for both training and scientific dialogue at Tsinghua, and look forward to seeing you there.