CV Science

Suzana Salcedo PhD in Infectious Diseases

Course and current status

2012-present

Principal Investigator, INSERM CR1

Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry, CNRS UMR5086, University of Lyon, Lyon France

Team: Cell Biology of Bacterial Pathogenicity

2005-2012 INSERM CR2/CR1

in the team of Dr. Jean-Pierre Gorvel

Centre d'Immunologie Marseille Luminy 

2003-2005

Postdoctoral Fellow in the team of Dr. Jean-Pierre Gorvel

Centre d'Immunologie Marseille Luminy

1999-2003

PhD in Infectious Disease with Prof. David Holden

Imperial College London

Scientific summary

Our group is interested in studying bacterial-host interactions, with particular emphasis on the role of bacterial proteins that promote virulence. These proteins may be modifying host cellular pathways to aid replication, allow the pathogen to subvert the immune response or enabling persistence within the host and abiotic surfaces in a hospital setting.

Prior to my arrival at MMSB, I was a researcher in the team of Jean-Pierre Gorvel at the CIML (Marseille) were I studied how Brucella controls host immune responses. In 2011, I was awarded a Young Researcher ERA-Net PathoGenomics grant that enabled me to identify novel Brucella translocated effector proteins. My research team in Lyon is now pursuing these studies, to understand how Brucella effectors modulate host cell functions. In parallel, I was awarded a Young Researcher Start-up grant from FINOVI to study nosocomial Gram-negative pathogens, their virulence mechanisms, interactions with host cells and how they modulate innate immune responses. We are currently applying our cell biology and bacteriology expertise to study the emerging nosocomial pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii, which due to widespread multi-drug resistance is of major health concern.  A. baumannii efficiently adheres to host cells and while it has recently been reported to invade cells, the intracellular fate of the bacteria and its effect on the host remains poorly characterized. In addition, A. baumannii has several secretion systems, which could contribute to virulence.