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Olivier Rolin

Class Year: M3

Department/Institute/Center(s):

M.D./Ph.D. Program

Contact Information:

Email: oyr10@psu.edu

Biographical Information:

Hometown: Harrisburg, PA

Education:

Undergraduate Education: BS/03 Human Biology/Brown U, RI

Research Interests:

Research Interest: The goal of my research projects is to understand interactions between hosts and pathogens during bacterial colonization of the upper respiratory tract.

Advisor: Eric Harvill, PhD
Graduate Program: IBIOS/Immunobiology

Thesis: How Host and Pathogen Adaptations Influence the Transmission of Bordetella bronchiseptica

Description: Small doses of aerosolized bacteria are frequently inhaled by animal hosts, yet most microbes will rarely colonize and establish residence. Once inside the host, the ability of a bacterium to populate is obstructed by numerous host defenses as well as other microbes already residing there. If a bacterium is to succeed at colonizing a new host, it must be equipped with the means to evade, endure or disarm the forces resisting its presence.

The goal of my research projects is to understand how bacteria settle and grow within hosts despite numerous forces resisting their presence. In particular, my studies strive to understand how pathogens harness the host inflammatory responses to avoid the mucocilliary escalator, and by previously established microbial communities. To carry out this project I will be studying molecular basis of how the mammalian respiratory pathogen Bordetella bronchiseptica induces inflammatory responses and how these interactions enable Bordetella bronchiseptica to colonize animals.

Meeting Presentations

(tba)

Publications:

Weyrich LS, Rolin OY, Muse SJ, Park J, Spidale N, Kennett MJ, Hester SE, Chen C, Dudley EG, Harvill ET (2012) A Type VI Secretion System Encoding Locus is Required for Bordetella bronchiseptica Immunomodulation and Persistence In Vivo PLoS One 7(10):e45892