Gonzalez-Juarrero Lab

The Gonzalez-Juarrero laboratory, part of the Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, focuses on the immune pathogenesis and development of aerosol therapies for mycobacterial diseases with primary emphasis on tuberculosis (TB) and non-tuberculous (NTM) diseases. Specifically, we want to understand how to enhance the antimicrobial activity in the infected host and characterize how these therapies affect the immunopathology of the disease, with an end goal of improved treatment therapies against multidrug-resistant infections.

We have developed several experimental animal models that allows for testing of aerosolized anti-TB and anti-NTM drugs. We test for efficacy, toxicity and pharmacokinetics of immunomodulators/antibiotics and study the temporal and spatial relationships of immune biomarkers during the stages of disease and therapy. Studies are done by a team of research scientists in close collaboration with other scientists in the mycobacteria research laboratories and serve to build a new generation of scientists by training graduate and undergraduate students.

Publications

Intrapulmonary Treatment with Mycobacteriophage LysB Rapidly Reduces Mycobacterium abscessus Burden.
Hurst-Hess K, Walz A, Yang Y, McGuirk H, Gonzalez-Juarrero M, Hatfull GF, Ghosh P, Ojha AK.Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2023 May 8:e0016223. doi: 10.1128/aac.00162-23. Online ahead of print.PMID: 37154689

Characterization of spectinamide 1599 efficacy against different mycobacterial phenotypes.
Temrikar ZH, Kodidela S, Kumar S, Liu J, Robertson GT, Lee RE, Hickey AJ, Gonzalez-Juarrero M, Meibohm B.Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2023 Apr 20;140:102342. doi: 10.1016/j.tube.2023.102342. Online ahead of print.PMID: 37120915

Spray dried tigecycline dry powder aerosols for the treatment of Nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary infections.
Maloney SE, Alshiraihi IM, Singh A, Stewart IE, Mariner Gonzalez J, Gonzalez-Juarrero M, Meibohm B, Hickey AJ.Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2023 Mar;139:102306. doi: 10.1016/j.tube.2023.102306. Epub 2023 Jan 20.PMID: 36716525

Mucosal exposure to non-tuberculous mycobacteria elicits B cell-mediated immunity against pulmonary tuberculosis.
Dutt TS, Karger BR, Fox A, Youssef N, Dadhwal R, Ali MZ, Patterson J, Creissen E, Rampacci E, Cooper SK, Podell BK, Gonzalez-Juarrero M, Obregon-Henao A, Henao-Tamayo M.Cell Rep. 2022 Dec 13;41(11):111783. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111783.PMID: 36516760

Microbiological profile, preclinical pharmacokinetics and efficacy of CRS0393, a novel antimycobacterial agent targeting MmpL3.
Ochsner UA, De Groote MA, Jarvis TC, Liu H, Youmans T, Hoang T, Ribble W, Day J, Li W, Pearce C, Walz A, Panthi CM, Rimal B, Stevens CM, Zgurskaya HI, Jackson M, Ordway D, Gonzalez-Juarrero M, Sun X, Lamichhane G, Mason C.
Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2022 Nov 29;138:102288. doi: 10.1016/j.tube.2022.102288. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36470124

more publications

People

Mercedes Gonzalez-Juarrero, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator [PI]
Professor

Ilham Alshiraihi, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Amanda Walz, M.S.

Research Associate III

Camron Pearce, M.S.

Research Associate II
PhD Candidate

John Patterson

Research Associate I

Ha Lam

Research Associate I

Zohaib Ali headshot.
Zohaib Ali

PhD Candidate
Fulbright Scholar

Tucker Booth

Student Researcher

Sydney Fugate

Student Researcher

Abigail Godelfer

Student Researcher

Brandon Goral

Student Researcher

Diane Jimenez

Student Researcher

Image of foamy macrophages from the granuloma of a mouse lung infected with Mtb. The lipids are fluorescent red, the bacilli green, and the cell nuclei are stained blue.

Immunohistochemistry showing IL-10 expression (brown) in Mtb infected lung tissue.

Multiplex immunohistochemistry for different cellular markers in and around a necrotic granuloma.

Multiplex immunohistochemistry in the lung tissue section from a balb/c mouse with Mtb. Each unique color is indicative of a unique cell type.