Bacterial Pathogens
There are many different bacteria that cause many diseases. At the University of Michigan Medical School Department of Microbiology & Immunology, we study a wide variety of gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens.
A common method to classify bacteria is Gram staining which distinguishes between gram-positive (the bacteria turns blue) and gram-negative bacteria (which do not retain the stain and are red or pink). The term “Gram” refers to a specimen staining method developed by Hans Christian Gram in 1884. It involves staining an organism with crystal violet or methylene blue dye and then observing the organism under a microscope.
Areas of Investigation
Some of the pathogens include:
- Mucosal pathogens: Campylobacter jejuni, E. coli, Helicobacter pylori, Proteus mirabilis, Vibrio cholerae
- Intracellular pathogens: Legionella pneumophila, Listeria monocytogenes)
- Select agents: Bacillus anthracis, Brucella spp., Yersiniapestis, Mycobacteria tuberculosis).
- Toxin secretion (cholera toxin) and antimicrobial and therapeutic agent: Actinomycetes, Cyanobacteria, Myxobacteria spp.
Other aspects of study include vaccine development and mathematical modeling of infection.
Faculty researching Bacterial Pathogens
Michael Bachman, MD, PhD
Clinical Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Program Director
Clinical Research
Clinical Pathology Division
Medical School
Suzanne Dawid, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Medical School
Philip C Hanna, PhD
Program Director of Graduate Studies
Microbiology and Immunology
Medical School
Denise E Kirschner, PhD
Medical School
Eric C Martens, PhD
Medical School
Mary O'Riordan, PhD
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Medical School
Maria Sandkvist, PhD
Program Director, Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School
Patrick Schloss, PhD
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Program Director of Microbiology and Immunology AP&A
Medical School
David H Sherman, PhD
Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School
Professor of Chemistry, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Research Professor, Life Sciences Institute
Evan Snitkin, PhD
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
Medical School
Michele Swanson, PhD
Director of Postdoctoral Studies, Medical School
Vincent Bensan Young, MD/PhD, FIDSA, FAAM
Professor of Internal Medicine
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Medical School
Anukul Shenoy, PhD
Medical School
