Fellowship in Infectious Diseases

Victor Nizet

Fellowship Director
Victor Nizet, M.D.
Professor of Pediatrics, School of Medicine
Chief Division of Pediatric Pharmacology & Drug Discovery
Professor of Pharmacy, Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Background

Dr. Nizet's research program examines bacterial pathogenesis and the innate immune system, with a special focus on human streptococcal and staphylococcal infections. Using a molecular genetic approach, the laboratory seeks to discover and characterize bacterial virulence determinants involved in cytotoxicity, adherence, invasion, inflammation, molecular mimicry and resistance to immunologic clearance. The scientists also investigate the contribution of host factors such as antimicrobial peptides, leukocyte surface receptors, signal transduction pathways, and transcription factors in defense against invasive bacterial infection. Translational research efforts that seek to identify new treatment strategies for infectious diseases are sought from natural product libraries, targeted neutralization of bacterial virulence phenotypes, and pharmacologic augmentation of host phagocyte function. More information available at: http://nizetlab.ucsd.edu

Area of Fellowships: Novel Infectious Disease Therapeutics

  1. Discovery of new antibiotics against drug resistant pathogens from marine natural product resources (w/ laboratory of William Fenical)
  2. Novel anti-infective therapies based on targeted virulence factor inhibition (e.g. blocking pigment production by MRSA, as developed in Auricx Pharmaceuticals)
  3. Novel anti-infective therapies based on pharmacological boosting of innate immune system function (e.g. augmentation of HIF-1 activity in phagocytic cells, as developed in Hypoxygen, Inc.)
  4. Novel protein antigen approaches to develop vaccines for Gram-positive bacterial pathogens such as Staphylcococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Streptococcus agalactiae.

Objectives of the Fellowship Program:

Coursework and training on:

  • Clinical infectious diseases
  • Microbial genetics
  • Innate immunity
  • Host-pathogen interactions
  • Novel classical antibiotic therapies
  • "Outside-the-box" antibiotic therapies

Unique skills fellows will acquire during the program:

Potential to learn a diverse array of laboratory approaches including bacterial molecular genetics, virulence factor characterization, tissue culture models of host-pathogen interactions, evaluation of epithelial cell, neutrophil and macrophage defense functions, and mouse models of infectious disease and antibiotic therapy.

Time allocation: Two years The time devoted to discovery and clinical will be divided to complement the previous experiences of the candidate and accomplish the goals of the fellowship. Over the two-year training period, the fellow will spend 18 months at UCSD and 6 months at your company.