Timothy L. Cover, MD, is Professor of Medicine within the Division of Infectious Diseases within the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology.
Dr. Cover maintains an active laboratory research program and provides patient care at the Nashville VA Medical Center. His research interests are directed toward studies of bacteria-host interactions and mechanisms by which bacteria cause disease, focusing on the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in the pathogenesis of stomach cancer. Topics of current interest in the Cover lab include a secreted H. pylori pore-forming toxin (VacA), a secreted effector protein CagA (classified as a bacterial oncoprotein), and a type IV secretion system that mediates entry of CagA into host cells.
Dr. Cover has authored more than 200 publications, and his laboratory been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health and Department of Veterans Affairs for more than 25 years. He has received several honors, including a Vanderbilt University award for outstanding teaching of graduate students in Microbiology and Immunology, membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation and Association of American Physicians, and fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology and American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Research Description
Research projects in the Cover laboratory are focused on bacterial infections, bacteria-host interactions, and the role of microbes in development of cancer. They are particularly interested in the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role as a causative agent of stomach cancer. H. pylori is the only bacterial species that commonly causes cancer in humans, and has been designated as a Class I carcinogen by the World Health Organization. H. pylori colonizes the stomach in about half of the global population, and stomach cancer is the third leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide.
One of the lab's main goals is to elucidate molecular mechanisms by which H. pylori infection can lead to stomach cancer. Another main goal is to understand why some H. pylori-infected individuals develop stomach cancer, whereas most others remain asymptomatic or derive health benefits.
Examples of projects currently underway in the lab include investigation of (i) secreted H. pylori toxins (VacA and CagA), (ii) an H. pylori type IV secretion system that delivers CagA into gastric epithelial cells, (iii) H. pylori-induced alterations in host cells and animal models, and (iv) dietary composition as a determinant of gastric cancer risk.