Leppla Research Group

The Microbial Pathogenesis Section uses biochemical and genetic tools to study bacterial diseases and the factors contributing to pathogenesis. Research focuses on identification and analysis of bacterial virulence factors and their genetic regulation, and on their mechanisms of action. Structure-function analysis of bacterial proteins uses expression, mutagenesis, functional assessment, and structure determination by crystallography, etc. Knowledge from this work is used to repurpose bacterial protein toxins in the development of diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics.

Group Photo: Microbial Pathogenesis Section

Stephen H. Leppla, Ph.D.

Chief, Microbial Pathogenesis Section

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Education:

Ph.D., University of Wisconsin

B.S., California Institute of Technology

Dr. Leppla earned a B.S. in biology from the California Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin. After postdoctoral study at the University of California-Berkeley and Brown University, he became a research scientist at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Frederick, Maryland. He moved to the National Institutes of Health in 1989 and to NIAID in 2003.

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Ankur Bothra, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)

Visiting PostDoc Research Fellow

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Education:

Ph.D., CSIR-Institutes of Genomics and Integrative Biology, India
M.Sc., Dept. of Molecular and Human Genetics, Banaras Hindu University, India
B.Sc. (Honors), Dept. of Botany, University of Delhi, India

Languages Spoken: Hindi

I am working on a research project where we aim to understand the role of environmental signals on regulating toxin production in B. anthracis.

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Mahtab Moayeri, Ph.D.

Associate Scientist, Microbial Pathogenesis Section

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Education:

Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dr. Moayeri completed her Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has focused on anthrax toxin pathogenesis research as a postdoctoral fellow, staff scientist and associate staff scientist at NIH since 1999.

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Andrei P. Pomerantsev, Ph.D., D.Sc.

Staff Scientist

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Education:

D.Sc., Biology, State Research Center for Applied Microbiology, Obolensk, Moscow
Ph.D., Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University
B.S., Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University

Languages Spoken: Russian

I am working in the field of molecular genetics.

Learn more about Andrei P. Pomerantsev, Ph.D., D.Sc.