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Amy Barczak

Amy Barczak, MD

Principal Investigator


Member

Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard

Assistant Investigator

MGH Infectious Disease Division

Associate Member

The Broad Institute

Contact


857-268-7143

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Host-pathogen interactions in mycobacterial infection

Research Overview

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.

About

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.

Selected Publications

Persistence and Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in an Immunocompromised Host

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

Disseminated Intravascular Infection Caused by Paecilomyces variotii: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Lazarus JE, Branda JA, Gandhi RG, Barshak MB, Zachary KC, Barczak AK.

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Jun; 7(6):ofaa166

Snapshot: COVID-19

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

Phagosomal Copper-Promoted Oxidative Attack on Intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis

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

Identification of host-targeted small molecules that restrict intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth

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

RNA signatures allow rapid identification of pathogens and antibiotic susceptibilities

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

Systematic, multiparametric analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis intracellular infection offers insight into coordinated virulence

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

Lab Team

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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