Graduate Programs in the Life Sciences

Research Focus

Dr. Scidmore's research interests focus on the pathogenic mechanisms utilized by chlamydiae to promote the intracellular survival and replication of chlamydiae within the eukaryotic host. Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular bacteria that are the etiological agents of several significant diseases of both medical and veterinary importance. Of particular concern, Chlamydia trachomatis is the most frequent cause of sexually transmitted disease in developed countries as well as the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide. Chlamydiae avoid degradation by host cellular defense mechanisms by replicating in a vacuole, termed an inclusion, which is non-fusogenic with host lysosomes. Instead the inclusion interacts with exocytic vesicles originating from the trans-Golgi network by processes that require early chlamydial gene expression. Thus, chlamydiae actively modify the vesicular interactions of the inclusion very early in the infectious process to create a protected intracellular niche. Presumably, many of these interactions are controlled by chlamydial proteins localized to the cytoplasmic face of the inclusion membrane. These inclusion membrane proteins (Incs) are most likely essential for the unique intracellular biology exhibited by chlamydiae as they are specific to chlamdyiae and they bridge the bacteria with the host cytoplasm. The specific research in my lab is directed towards understanding the function of the inclusion membrane proteins and how they contribute to the intracellular survival and pathogenesis of chlamydiae. Towards this goal, one of the major projects of the lab is the identification of host proteins that interact with specific inclusion membrane proteins. Characterization of these novel interactions should help to elucidate the biological roles of these inclusion membrane proteins. At present, they are focusing on the C. trachomatis specfic inclusion membrane proteins, IncD-G. Recently, the mammalian 14-3-3b protein was shown to specifically interact with C. trachomatis IncG in infected-tissue culture cells. Experiments are ongoing to characterize the functional significance of the association of 14-3-3b with the chlamydial inclusion membrane.

Educational Background

• B.S., Molecular Biology, University of California at San Diego, 1987
• Ph. D., Molecular Biology, Princeton University, 1993