Swaine Chen

Biography

2004 M.D., Ph.D. in Developmental Biology, Stanford University 1996 A.B. in Chemistry and Mathematics, Harvard University

Research Interest

I am taking an evolutionary approach to integrate high throughput sequencing technologies into the daily discovery process of microbiologists. To do this, I use a model of urinary tract infection (UTI) caused by Escherichia coli. The primary and most well-studied virulence factor enabling E. coli to cause UTI in the mammalian bladder is type 1 pili, a fibrous structure created by E. coli that allows them to bind to the bladder epithelium. Natural variations in the genes encoding type 1 pili exist and affect the ability of E. coli to cause disease.