Joseph (Joe) Dillard

Education

1987, B.S., Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
1994, Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
1994-98, Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL

Areas of Study

Bacterial Pathogenesis

Research Overview

We work on reproductive tract pathogens of humans, particularly Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Gardnerella species. These species infect both men and women, but the consequences of infection are generally more severe in women. N. gonorrhoeae infections in women usually start as cervicitis, but the bacteria often spread to the uterus and Fallopian tubes where an inflammatory response to the bacteria damages tissue and can result in pelvic inflammatory disease, which may be manifested as tubal-factor infertility, chronic pelvic pain, or ectopic pregnancy. Our research has demonstrated how N. gonorrhoeae cells modify and release cell wall (peptidoglycan) fragments that elicit the damaging inflammatory response.

Gardnerella species cause the disease bacterial vaginosis (BV), displacing health-promoting Lactobacillus species and leading to an environment that encourages the growth of multiple anaerobic bacteria. BV causes pain, itching, and abnormal discharge and causes pregnancy complications including preterm birth. Preterm birth is the leading cause of infant death worldwide. In order to study the mechanisms Gardnerella use to cause BV, we developed genetic tools and methods to make mutations in these species and thereby identify factors required for pathogenesis.

Publications