Laura Hesse
Michigan State University
Wonder Drake Lab
Bacterial pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, much is unknown about how bacterial pathogens arrive in the lung to establish infection and cause disease. There is increasing evidence for a gut-lung axis in which microbial and immune products originating in the gut impact lung physiology. My research in the Drake Lab is focused on exploring the ability of gut microbiome to impact the initiation and progression of bacterial pneumonia.