COTTER LAB

Our research is focused on understanding how bacteria cause respiratory tract infections. We are specifically interested in understanding how some bacterial species typically colonize the nasopharynx of their hosts chronically and asymptomatically (behaving almost like commensals), but occasionally cause overt serious disease such as pneumonia or meningitis. By contrast with the strictly human-adapted pathogens that fall into this category, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria meningitidis, Bordetella bronchiseptica has a broad host range that includes animals commonly studied in the laboratory such as rabbits, rats, guinea pigs and mice. We have therefore been using B. bronchiseptica and some of its natural hosts as models to investigate the molecular mechanisms used by bacteria to manipulate the innate and adaptive immune responses of their hosts so that they can set up persistent, long-term infections. Because B. bronchiseptica is an extremely close relative of Bordetella pertussis, our studies also shed light on the molecular bases by which this organism causes whooping cough, a serious illness that persists worldwide despite the availability of efficacious vaccines