Principal Investigator
Member
Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard
Assistant Investigator
MGH Infectious Disease Division
Associate Member
The Broad Institute
857-268-7143
990
The Barczak lab studies mycobacteria (Mtb), the pathogen that causes tuberculosis. TB is one of the leading causes of death globally, and the bacteria employs a number of different strategies to evade and avoid the immune system. The lab seeks to understand the molecular pathogenesis and immune response in TB and apply this information to efforts to develop novel treatments and preventions.
The Barczak lab seeks to explore the knowledge gap between the minimalist systems used to study infection and the physiologic response to a biochemically complex pathogen, such as Mtb, recognized at distinct subcellular sites over the course of infection. Using genetic and microscopic approaches with cellular and murine models of infection, we are interested in elucidating the strategies used by Mtb to restrict activation of innate immune pathways. Finally, we are interested in applying the knowledge gained in studies of molecular pathogenesis to the development of new strategies for treating and preventing TB.
Amy Barczak received her MD from Harvard Medical School. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases in the combined MGH/BWH program. Following post-doctoral work in the Hung lab at the Broad Institute and the Rubin lab at Harvard School of Public Health, she came to the Ragon Institute to start her lab as faculty in the MGH Infectious Diseases Division.
Bowman K, Adhikari UD, Winkler ML, Mueller AA, Hsu TY, Desjardins M, Baden LR, Chan BT, Walker BD, Lichterfeld M, Brigl M, Kwon DS, Kanjilal S, Richardson ET, Jonsson AH, Alter G, Barczak AK, Hanage WP, Yu XG, Gaiha GD, Seaman MS, Cernadas M, Li JZ.
N Engl J Med. 2020 12 03; 383(23):2291-2293
Lazarus JE, Branda JA, Gandhi RG, Barshak MB, Zachary KC, Barczak AK.
Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Jun; 7(6):ofaa166
Oberfeld B, Achanta A, Carpenter K, Chen P, Gilette NM, Langat P, Said JT, Schiff AE, Shou AS, Barczak AK, and Pillai S.
Cell, 29 Apr 2020, 181(4):954-954.e1
Libardo MDJ, de la Fuente-Nunez C, Anand K, Krishnamoorthy G, Kaiser P, Pringle SC, Dietz C, Pierce S, Smith MB, Barczak A, Kaufmann SHE, Singh A, and Angeles-Boza AM.
ACS Infect Dis, 2018 Sep 6
Stanley SA*, Barczak AK*, Silvis MR, Luo SS, Sogi KM, Volkes M, Bray MA, Carpenter AE, Siddiqi N, Rubin EJ, Hung DT.
PLoS Pathog 2014 Feb; 10(2): e1003946
Barczak AK*, Gomez JE*, Kaufmann BB, Hinson ER, Cosimi L, Borowsky ML, Onderdonk AB, Stanley SA, Kaur D, Bryant KF, Knipe DM, Sloutsky A, Hung DT.
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2012. 109(16):6217-22
Barczak AK*, Avraham R*, Singh S, Luo SS, Zhang WR, Bray MA, Thompson M, Nietupski RM, Golas A, Fitzgerald M, Smith RS, White DW, Tischler AD, Carpenter AE, Hung DT.
PLoS Pathog. 2017 May 15;13(5):e1006363
Zach Baskir
Undergraduate Student
Julie Boucau
Staff Scientist
Jennie Ruelas Castillo
Research Scientist
Triet Doan
Undergraduate Student
Owen Glover
Research Technician I
Neha Jain
Postdoctoral Fellow
Amanda Marsh
Research Technician I
Eliane Shwairi
Veterinary Technician
Pooja Uchil
Graduate Student
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The Ragon’s faculty includes many of the world’s most creative scientists, engineers, and clinicians.
The Ragon’s research creates knowledge from our collaborative, cross-disciplinary approach, breaking down the silos of academia.