Constantinides Lab
Principal Investigator: Michael George Constantinides
Institution: Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA)
Primary Subfield: Molecular & Cell Bio
Recruitment Status: ✅ Accepting PhD Students
Research Focus
Project Summary Staphylococcus bacteria are the primary cause of healthcare-associated infections in neonatal intensive care units and the leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections worldwide. In addition to causing impetigo, the most common bacterial infection in children, Staphylococcus can result in life-threatening conditions, including sepsis and Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome. However, there are currently no effective vaccines available for Staphylococcus bacteria, preventing maternal immunization, and the emergence of antibiotic resistance impedes standard treatments. Consequently, there is a need to understand how the immune system responds to Staphylococcal infections in early life. While innate immune cells utilize germline-encoded receptors to detect conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns, adaptive cells recombine receptor genes to generate a broad range of antigen specificities, which delays the emergence of adaptive immunity. Following development, adaptive immune cells require antigen-mediated activation within secondary lymphoid organs to express the chemokine receptors and integrins necessary for tissue homing and produce effector cytokines or…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R35GM151347-04: Innate lymphocyte responses to early-life infections (2026)
- 5R35GM151347-03: Innate lymphocyte responses to early-life infections (2025)
- 5R35GM151347-02: Innate lymphocyte responses to early-life infections (2024)
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