Jennifer L. Edwards, PhD

The focus of the Edwards laboratory is to elucidate the molecular/cellular mechanisms of neisserial pathogenesis, inclusive of those molecules contributing to colonization and disease progression. The lab is particularly interested in defining those host and bacterial factors that promote asymptomatic carriage/disease. In that N. gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis infections are limited to humans, the lab strives to mirror physiological conditions in experiments in which they routinely use primary human cells and clinically isolated bacteria. These investigative conditions most closely mimic the in vivo human environment and ensure that data generated are relevant to those host processes trigger during human disease. Although many of the lab's queries are rooted in cellular microbiology, they use a wide variety of approaches to explore the numerous questions yet to be answered. By further elucidating at the molecular and cellular level the (host and bacterial) factors and responses that contribute to colonization and disease progression, it may be possible to identify new strategies for the detection (biomarkers and diagnostics), the intervention (new therapeutic agents), and the prevention (vaccine development) of neisserial infections that, in turn, will translate to better disease management and, ultimately, in improved women’s and children’s health.

Current areas of interest include the following:

• How do cyclic levels of steroid hormones and oxygen availability influence gonococcal infection of the lower female genital tract
• What are the mechanisms used by the pathogenic Neisseria to avoid killing by innate immune effectors during mucosal infection
• Further definition of the mechanism(s) by which meningococci associate with and invade the airway epithelium
• Mechanism by which gonococci associate with fetal and maternal membranes during pregnancy & how this relates to infection-induced adverse pregnancy outcomes
• What are the host and bacterial factors that contribute to ascending infection of the female reproductive tract

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Publications

Jennifer L. Edwards, PhD, is a Principal Investigator in the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Edwards's NIH-funded research program focuses on the interaction of bacterial pathogens with host mucosal surfaces, with a specific interest in the molecular mechanisms contributing to asymptomatic disease and infectious disease disparity.

See Jennifer L. Edwards’s Curriculum Vitae (CV)