Biography

Dr. Kara Eichelberger’s long-standing research interest is studying host-pathogen interactions during infection. She received her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where her dissertation research focused on elucidating mechanisms of neutrophil dysfunction during primary pneumonic plague. She then completed postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, investigating how microbe-microbe interactions shape pathogenesis. Dr. Eichelberger’s research integrates bacterial pathogenesis, fungal physiology, and innate immunology to define how polymicrobial interactions regulate microbial virulence and interactions with host cells. The Eichelberger lab studies how fungal-bacterial interactions govern microbial pathogenesis. We focus on interactions between the fungal pathogen 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 and the bacterial pathogen 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘴. 𝘊. 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 and 𝘚. 𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘴 can be co-isolated from polymicrobial infections, which are associated with enhanced disease severity and treatment recalcitrance. Yet, 𝘊. 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 and 𝘚. 𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘴 share several overlapping colonization sites as part of the normal microbiota present in humans. This suggests that virulence outcomes of interactions between 𝘊. 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 and 𝘚. 𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘴 are context dependent. The Eichelberger lab uses molecular and genetic approaches to define how interactions among fungi, bacteria, and host cells shape infectious disease.