Matthew Waldor wants to understand the principles that govern the interactions between enteric bacterial pathogens and their hosts. Waldor and his team develop animal models and integrate pathogen- and host-directed profiling methods to probe pathogen and host biology during infection. The team often applies and develops emerging technologies to define the genes, proteins, and metabolites that mediate interactions between pathogens and their hosts. Knowledge from these studies is applied in the development of new therapeutics, including of a live-attenuated cholera vaccine to be studied in a clinical trial.
Scientists have found a new way to identify genetic modifications to transfer RNAs that could be important in a wide variety of diseases. A weakened version of the bacteria that causes cholera provides quick protection to rabbits. The vaccine may one day stop outbreaks of the deadly intestinal disease. A new DNA sequencing technique has enabled researchers to map for the first time the influential chemical modifications known as methylation marks throughout the genome of a pathogenic bacterium.  In the overwhelmingly left-handed world of amino acids, the right-handed versions of a few such molecules act as signals that spur bacteria to adapt to changing conditions.