Research

The Cameron lab studies the group of bacteria called spirochetes. The main focus of the lab is the study of the spirochete Treponema pallidum, causative agent of the Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) syphilis. Research in the Cameron lab focuses on understanding how T. pallidum causes disease, and developing biomedical interventions to diagnose and prevent syphilis. Specific research areas include:

Multiomic Analyses to Investigate the Host-Pathogen Interface:  We are determining the effect T. pallidum has on host mammalian cells, and mammalian cells have on T. pallidum, at the transcript and protein expression levels. These investigations increase our understanding of correlates of protection against disease and symptom development, and identify targets for diagnostic and biomedical interventions.

Posttranslational Modifications of T. pallidum Proteins: Using proteomic methodologies we are investigating posttranslational modifications (PTMs) occurring on T. pallidum proteins during infection, and the role of these PTMs in infection. 

Development of Biomedical Interventions for Syphilis Prevention:  Rising rates of syphilis around the world indicate the need for development of biomedical interventions to prevent infection. Using a multi-faceted approach, our lab is developing clinically translatable products to interfere with and prevent T. pallidum infection. 

Development of an Improved Syphilis Diagnostic Test:  Through ongoing research in our lab conducted in partnership with our network of collaborators, we are developing point-of-care direct diagnostic tests for rapid detection of syphilis infection at different disease stages.

Development of a User-Friendly, Living Data Repository for the Syphilis Research Field and Beyond: Through a collaborative project we are developing the Treponema pallidum Protein Database (TPPD), a publicly available, updatable, and interactive database resource for researchers in the T. pallidum field and beyond. This centralized, protein-focused database allows researchers to access global pan-proteome sequence alignments among T. pallidum strains and subspecies. It also provides structural modeling of the T. pallidum proteome, multiomic analyses of T. pallidum-host cell interactions, and T. pallidum protein expression analyses via a user-friendly and dynamic interface.