Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology

Our laboratory is devoted to investigate the pathogenesis and immune response to mycobacterial species, specially M. tuberculosis, with a central interest in the adaptive immune response induced by vaccines. In our laboratory we have the ability to test how effective this immune response is against different clinical strains of tuberculosis. Our goal is to achieve a better understanding of the immune response to different vaccine candidates using a multiparametric, unbiased analysis of the cells induced after vaccination. We also utilize metabolic profiles and single cell sequencing as a readout of the type of cellular immune response induced after vaccination.

Furthermore, as the Director of the CSU Flow Cytometry Core facility and due to our labs experience using flow cytometry as an analytical tool, our laboratory has been implementing and developing new tools for multicolor flow cytometry analysis. We are currently using algorithms that automatically identify cell populations according to their marker expression profiles. These computational methods not only have the capacity to identify rare populations, but also to match cell populations across samples, and statistically compare features between different populations. These algorithms provide an unsupervised analysis, allowing an unbiased investigation of cytometry data. In addition to flow cytometry, we are currently implementing single cell sequencing, as well as, metabolomic analysis of immune cells elicited in response to mycobacterial infections and vaccination