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Erol Fikrig

 

Microbiology; Immunology

Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Medicine, Microbial Pathogenesis, Epidemiology and Public Health. Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Education

B.A. Cornell University 1981
M.D. Cornell University Medical College 1985

Research Interests

My laboratory investigates vector-borne diseases. Studies are directed toward understanding Lyme disease, Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, and West Nile virus. Efforts on Lyme disease include exploring immunity to Borrelia burgdorferi, selective B. burgdorferi gene expression in vivo, and the immunobiology of Lyme arthritis. Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis is caused by a newly described pathogen, transmitted by Ixodes scapularis ticks, that persists within neutrophils. We are investigating the molecular strategies that this pathogen uses to survive in polymorphonuclear leukocytes. West Nile virus can cause fatal encephalitis, and we seek to understand the pathogenesis of this emerging disease. Finally, we are also developing molecular approaches to prevent ticks from feeding on a mammalian host, thereby interfering with pathogen transmission.

Recent Publications

• Pal U, Wang P, Bao F, Worsmer G, Schwartz I, Fikrig E. (2008). Borrelia burgdorferi BmpA and BmpB are critical for Lyme arthritis. J Exp Med. 205:133-41
• Narasimhan S, Sukumaran B, Bozdogan U, Thomas V, Liang X, DePonte K, Marcantonio N, Koski R, Anderson JF, Kantor F, Fikrig E. (2007). Salp25D, a tick peroxiredoxin, facilitates Borrelia burgdorferi acquisition from mice by Ixodes scapularis. Cell Host & Microbe. 2:7-18

Contact

E-mail
erol.fikrig@yale.edu