Sam Moskowitz Laboratory
Welcome to the research laboratory of Dr. Samuel Moskowitz. Our work deals with one of the major pulmonary complications from which people with cystic fibrosis (CF) and certain other clinical conditions suffer, chronic infection with the Gram-negative organism Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
People with CF can be infected with this opportunistic pathogen as early as the first weeks of infancy, and despite the availability of sophisticated antibiotic treatments, are at risk of becoming persistently infected. Conversely, critically ill individuals in intensive care units are at risk of acute P. aeruginosa lung infections that can be very difficult to treat owing to marked antibiotic resistance.
Through our research, we aim to understand why current antibiotic treatment is not completely effective against P. aeruginosa, and to develop more effective approaches to treatment that may minimize the development of antibiotic resistance.
Projects in the Moskowitz Lab focus on:
- Improving the predictive value of antibiotic susceptibility testing with respect to treatment of CF airway infection
- Defining clinically relevant antibiotic resistance mechanisms of P. aeruginosa
- Modeling interactions between P. aeruginosa biofilms and antibiotics in vitro
- Understanding how interactions between P. aeruginosa and host cells contribute to antibiotic resistance and thus determine the outcome of infection (resolution versus acute progression versus chronic persistence)
See the research page for more information about Moskowitz Lab research and links to research projects.