Dr. Amanda Jones

Research in my lab focuses on investigating the pathogenesis of group B streptococcal (GBS) disease. GBS is a major cause of neonatal sepsis, meningitis, and pneumonia. GBS colonizes the lower gastrointestinal tract and vaginal epithelium of healthy adults. Infants can acquire the organism via an ascending infection following aspiration of infected amniotic fluid or during passage through the birth canal. Maternal and neonatal infection with GBS is strongly correlated with both premature rupture of membranes and premature birth. We are investigating the pathogenesis of GBS infection on a molecular level in order to gain better understanding of how GBS evades innate immune defenses in the genitourinary tract. We are also using genomic and proteomic approaches to determine how GBS regulates expression of the genes required for survival in the host. We have identified and are characterizing a number of potential virulence factors that affect the interaction between GBS and the host.