Meet Our Team

Principal Investigator

Robert O. Watson, Ph.D., MPH

Principal Investigator - Associate Professor
Department of Medicine - Division of Infectious Diseases

Ph.D.: Jorge Galan, Ph.D., Yale University
Postdoc: Jeffery Cox, Ph.D., UCSF

Interests: My lab is broadly interested in regulation of host innate immune responses in macrophages during intracellular bacterial infection and the macrophage/Mycobacterium tuberculosis host-pathogen interface. We are particularly interested in how Mtb gains access to the macrophage cytosol and the consequences of cytosolic access on innate immune outcomes. We are also working to understand how mitochondrial damage alters innate immune outcomes; in particular, we want to know why human mitochondrial mutations confer susceptibility to mycobacterial infection. We ask these questions via bacterial and mammalian genetics in macrophages ex vivo and in a mouse model of infection.

Current Lab Members

Post-docs

Xinwei Geng, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Ph.D. Songmin Ying, Ph.D. M.D. Zhejiang University

Interests: I am interested in the host cell DNA damage response induced by mycobacterial infection and its role in mediating the antibacterial immune response.

Graduate Students

Cory Mabry

Graduate Student, Medical Sciences

NIH/NIAID F31 Fellow

B.S. Texas A&M University

ORCID

Interests: I am interested in understanding how key host proteins modulate mitochondrial health during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. My research focuses on the mechanisms of the TRIM14-TBK1 signaling axis and how this governs mitochondria homeostasis and M. tuberculosis infection outcomes.

Eddie Martinez, M.S.

Graduate Student, Molecular Pathology and Immunology

T32 IMSD Awardee

NIH/NIAID NRSA F31 Diversity Fellow

B.S. and M.S. University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

ORCID

Interests: I am interested in studying the molecular mechanisms linking innate immunity and mitochondrial homeostasis in cell death. My project investigates the molecular mechanisms of a newly discovered role of GSDMD that promotes a cell death transition from pyroptosis to necroptosis by targeting the mitochondria.

Lily Ellzey

Graduate Student, Microbe-Host Interactions

B.S. Angelo State University

ORCID

Interests: I am interested in the metabolism of oxidized lipids and how the toxic and reactive metabolites produced during mycobacterial infection impact the outcome of infection. I am particularly interested in underserved mycobacterial infections, such as non-tuberculosis mycobacteria and multi or extensively drug resistant tuberculosis.

Jacob (Jake) Davis

Graduate Student, MD/PhD Program

B.S. and B.A. University of Oklahoma, Medical Humanities Scholars BA-MD Program

ORCID

Interests: My research is focused on how mitochondrial homeostasis influences the innate immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis within a macrophage. I am specifically interested in how mitophagy—a quality control process that removes damaged or superfluous mitochondria—can regulate pathways of programmed cell death such as pyroptosis and necroptosis, and how this may in turn influence the outcome of an infection.

Research Assistants

Stacy Hahn

Research Assistant

Department of Medicine - Division of Infectious Diseases

B.S. Wake Forest University

ORCID

Interests: I investigate Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) effector proteins trafficking to the mitochondria and its role in producing homeostatic imbalances. These homeostatic imbalances typically lead to inflammation and cell death.

Patrick Lab Principal Investigator

Kristin L. Patrick, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator - Associate Professor
Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology

Ph.D.: Christian Tschudi, Ph.D., Yale University
Postdoc: Nevan Krogan, Ph.D. and Christine Guthrie Ph.D., UCSF

Interests: My lab studies post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression during the innate immune response in macrophages. We are broadly interested in how RNA binding proteins and components of the spliceosome are functionally specialized in response to pathogen sensing. We are currently working to understand how members of the SR and hnRNP families of splicing regulatory proteins control the maturation and stability of innate immune mRNAs. We also want to know how alternatively spliced protein isoforms perform distinct roles in innate immunity. Additionally, we seek to understand how intracellular bacterial pathogens like M. tuberculosis manipulate host gene expression by investigating secreted effector proteins that traffic to the macrophage nucleus.

Graduate Students

Aja Coleman

Graduate Student, Medical Sciences

T32 IMSD Awardee

NIH/NIAID NRSA F31 Diversity Fellow

B.S. Trinity University

ORCID

Interests: I am interested in exploring the intricate interactions between membrane-bound and secreted Mtb effector proteins and the nuclear host proteins that regulate epigenetic modifications, ultimately shaping the innate immune response.

Kaitlyn Armijo

Graduate Student, Molecular Pathology and Immunology

T32 IMSD Awardee

B.S. Baylor University

ORCID

Interests: I am interested in the role biomolecular condensates (BCs) play in dictating the innate immune response in macrophages. Specifically, how the nuclear paraspeckle, a highly ordered BC that nucleates on the Neat1 lncRNA, shapes innate immune gene expression. We hypothesize that after innate immune activation, paraspeckles contribute to transcriptional changes through selective sequestration and release of many different RNAs and RNA binding proteins (via liquid liquid phase separation) to help orchestrate macrophage antimicrobial responses.

Mackenzie Smith

Graduate Student, Molecular Pathology and Immunology

B.S. Baylor University

ORCID

Interests: I am interested in cancer-associated mutations in pre-mRNA splicing factors and how they impact innate immune gene expression. Specifically, I am investigating mutations in the U2AF (U2 small nuclear auxiliary factor) heterodimer, and how the immune consequences of these mutations compare to that of mutations in SF3B1 and SRSF2. I am also working on understanding the impact of spliceosome-targeted cancer therapeutics on the innate immune response.

Morgan Chapman

Graduate Student, MD/PhD Program

B.S. Texas A&M University

ORCID

Interests: Alternative splicing serves as a critical node in RNA processing and is recently becoming more appreciated as a method of innate immune regulation. In collaboration with the Carpenter lab at UC Santa Cruz, we have identified that the splicing factor, hnRNPA2B1, is essential for the restriction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Using molecular biology and cellular based assays, I am investigating how changes in alternative splicing mediated by hnRNPA2B1 impact innate immune responses and restrict bacterial pathogens.

Former Lab Members

Postdoctoral Fellows

Chi Weindel, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
Parkinson’s Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
NIAID/NIH K22 Career Transition Award
Parkinson’s Foundation Launch Award (Training and Career Transition Award)

CURRENT POSITION:
Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tulane University School of Medicine

Samantha Bell, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
NIAID DP2 New Innovators Award

CURRENT POSITION:
Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Microbial Genetics; Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Pathogens; Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Timothy Fitzsimons, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Graduate Students (Mentored and Co-mentored):

Krystal Vail, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Graduate Student and Veterinary Anatomical Pathology Resident
T32 Comparative Biomedical Research Training for Veterinarians Fellow
NIAD K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award

CURRENT POSITION:
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; Tulane National Primate Research Center; Tulane University School of Medicine