Targeting Multiple Steps of the Transcription Cycle Combats Resistance and Potentiates Rifampicin Activity in Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infected Granulomas
Event Details
- Type
- Monday Lecture Series
- Speaker(s)
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Elizabeth Campbell, Ph.D., Corinne P. Greenberg Women & Science Professor and head, Laboratory of Molecular Pathogenesis, The Rockefeller University
- Speaker bio(s)
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Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the deadliest human pathogen, is increasingly resistant to rifampicin (Rif), a key first-line TB therapy. Rif-resistance (RifR) undermines treatment efficacy, contributing to prolonged therapy, treatment failure, and resistance spread. To address these challenges, the Campbell lab explored transcription as a multi-stage target. We showed that combining a new transcription inhibitor, AAP-SO2 (a compound with whole-cell activity against Mtb), with Rif exploits transcriptional fitness costs of RifR mutations. This approach reduces RifR evolution, eliminates prevalent RifR strains, and enhances Rif activity in granulomas. These findings highlight targeting transcriptional vulnerabilities as a strategy for tackling drug-resistant and latent TB.
Elizabeth Campbell came to Rockefeller for her Ph.D. in 1992, where she worked in the lab of Elaine Tuomanen and Robert Masure. In 1998, she joined Seth Darst’s Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics as a postdoc, eventually becoming a research associate professor, and then co-director of the lab with Darst. In 2024, she became Rockefeller’s Corinne P. Greenberg Women & Science Professor and launched the Laboratory of Molecular Pathogenesis.Campbell has received several awards, among them a Keystone Symposia Early Career Investigator Award, an Emil von Behring Prize, and Rockefeller’s Inclusive Excellence Award. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.
MLS lectures are only open to the RU community and will be taking place in Carson Family Auditorium and virtually via Zoom. Virtual participants are required to log in with their RU Zoom account and use their RU email address and password for authentication. We recommend signing out of VPN prior to logging in to the lecture. Please do not share the link or post on social media. - Open to
- Campus Only