Seminar Series
"Leveraging Arts & Crafts and Single-Cell RNA Sequencing to Understanding Lyme Disease Pathogenesis and Transmission"
Jeff Bourgeois, PhD
Biology and Biotechnology
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Abstract: Borrelia burgdorferi cycles between small vertebrate reservoir hosts and ticks in nature. During tick feeding, the bacterium can be transmitted to humans, where it causes Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne disease in the United States. Increasing evidence indicates that natural genetic variation among both hosts and B. burgdorferi strains shapes host-pathogen interactions, influencing bacterial transmission, persistence, and disease outcomes. In my laboratory, we are developing experimental models of the B. burgdorferi transmission cycle and human infection to mechanistically link naturally occurring genetic variation to differences in transmission dynamics and disease phenotypes. This talk will discuss how we use animal and cell culture models to explore these ideas, and how we can leverage recent advances in single-cell RNA sequencing to gain key insight into how B. burgdorferi interacts with its hosts.
Biography: Jeff Bourgeois, Ph.D. (He/Him), is an Assistant Professor of Biology and Biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His research investigates how natural genetic variation in hosts and pathogens shapes infectious disease outcomes, with a particular focus on Lyme disease and Borrelia burgdorferi. The Bourgeois Lab integrates genomics, molecular biology, microbiology, and cell biology approaches to study host–microbe interactions. Dr. Bourgeois earned his B.A. From the College of the Holy Cross, a Ph.D. in Genetics and Genomics from Duke University, and completed postdoctoral training at the Tufts University Lyme Disease Initiative.
For a zoom link please contact Kate Harrison at kharrison@wpi.edu