Cell Biology of Infection

The Cell Biology of Infection Laboratory resulted from the the fusion between the Spanò's (AKA Salmonella lab) and Baldassarre's laboratories.

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Both PIs started their career at the Consorzio Mario Negri Sud in Italy. In 2004 they moved to Yale University (New Haven, USA).

Stefania Spanò worked with Jorge Galán on Salmonella Typhi, the causative agent of typhoid fever.  With him she pioneered molecular studies of Salmonella Typhi pathogenesis identifying a unique toxin delivered by Salmonella Typhi, which they named Typhoid Toxin.  They also identified a novel macrophage antimicrobial pathway (BRAM pathway) and showed that it is required for Salmonella Typhi-human restriction.  

At the end of 2013 she started her independent group in Aberdeen  focussing on the molecular mechanisms of pathogen killing in macrophages.

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Massimiliano (Max) Baldassarre worked at Yale with David Calderwood studying the molecular basis for human diseases caused by mutation on filamins, a class of actin binding proteins. He elucidated the role of filamins in cell migration and cell invasion and reported the first high-resolution structure of the filamin actin binding domain bound to F-actin.

Since his move in Aberdeen he started to collaborate more closely with the Salmonella lab characterising the BRAM pathway in human macrophages and applying his experience in cell biology and pharmacology in understanding better the interactions between bacteria (mainly Salmonella Typhi and Staphylococcus aureus) and macrophages.

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Stefania Spanò untimely death in September 2019 was a huge loss, but the group’s research continues with undiminished commitment, still benefitting hugely from her experience and scientific legacy, her enthusiasm and passion to solve the key research questions.