Bruce Klein, PhD

Position title: Pediatrics, Medicine, and Medical Microbiology & Immunology

Email: bsklein@pediatrics.wisc.edu

Department: Pediatrics, Medicine, and Medical Microbiology and Immunology                                                  

Immunology Focus area: Immunology of Infectious disease, Host-Microbe Interactions                      

Descriptive Title of Research: Molecular immunology and pathogenesis of invasive fungal infections                                                                                 

Research Description:

The increasing burden of fungal disease in the world, together with the emergence of drug resistant organisms is an alarming challenge to medicine and human health. The Klein laboratory is a molecular medical mycology research group with two broad areas of focus: fungal pathogenesis and immunology.

The projects in the lab address common questions in pathogenesis and immunology: What are the mechanisms of fungal virulence? How does the host-fungal pathogen interaction define the progression of infection and disease?  How does the innate and adaptive immune system respond to fungi, and what are the key immunological steps required for vaccine immunity to fungal pathogens?  And, how does the immune response to fungi go awry, resulting allergic inflammation in response to inhaled mold.

Current Projects

  • Mechanisms of phase transition in dimorphic fungi
  • Mechanisms of vaccine induced immunity to fungi
  • Innate and adaptive immune responses to fungi
  • Characterization of host-pathogen interactions in fungal infections
  • Targeted development of novel anti-fungal compounds

Link to Publications:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/bruce.klein.1/bibliography/40477568/public/?sort=date&direction=ascending

 

Graduate Program Affiliations:  MDTP, CMB, CMP, MSTP, METC, CBMS

Lab Website:  https://medmicro.wisc.edu/people_faculty_profile.php?id=bsklein&view=intro