Johnson, James R., M.D.

INFECTIOUS DISEASE

My laboratory’s activities concentrate on the following areas: Defining the properties of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus that contribute to these bacterial organisms’ ability to cause urinary tract infections and other infections in humans. • we do genetic tests and traditional microbiology tests on bacteria cultured from infected persons versus uninfected (healthy) persons, and compare the results between the two groups. • we test mutant bacterial strains in a mouse model of urinary tract infection. Defining sources and patterns of colonization of healthy human hosts with the particular strains of E. coli that can cause urinary tract infections. • We collect samples of intestinal bacteria from healthy and infected humans and do tests on the bacteria • We analyze food items and environmental sources for the presence of uropathogenic E. coli Defining the environmental sources and intrinsic virulence potential of antibiotic resistant E. coli. Differentiating between different bacterial strains of the same species (currently, E. coli, Enterococcus, and Salmonella), to determine whether multiple patients with what appears to be the same type of infection actually have the same bacterial strain, or different (unrelated) strains, or to determine evolutionary relationships between strains.