Federico Rosconi, Ph.D.

Secciones

Federico Rosconi, Ph.D.
Title
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department
Department of Biology
Institution
Boston College
Address
140 Commonwealth Avenue
420 Higgins Hall
City, State, ZIP
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Country
United States
Phone
617-552-0804
Email
[email protected]
Website
https://www2.bc.edu/tim-van-opijnen/index.html
Research field
Microbiology
Award year
2015
Country of origin
Uruguay
Mentor name
Tim van Opijnen, Ph.D.

Research

The van Opijnen lab studies the genes that allow a bacterial species to become infectious. Within a given species of bacteria, one strain may be harmless, and another potentially lethal. Such drastic differences are perhaps not surprising: Recent studies indicate that one strain of a specific bacterial species may differ from another strain of the same species by 200 genes. Furthermore, many of these microbes can swap their DNA. Thus, any search for the genes that fuel infectiousness should include all of the genes available within the entire species. I will take advantage of an innovative sequencing technique developed in Dr. van Opijnen's lab in order to analyze the genetic material of 50 strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae and identify the genes that are most important for infecting a host and causing disease. This work has clear implications for the understanding and treatment of infectious diseases.

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