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Craig Roy, PhD

Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Microbial Pathogenesis and of Immunobiology and Director of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS); Vice-Chair, Department of Microbial Pathogenesis

Contact Information

Craig Roy, PhD

Mailing Address

  • Microbial Pathogenesis

    Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, 295 Congress Avenue, BCMM 354B

    New Haven, CT 06536-0812

    United States

Research Summary

The focus of our research is to understand the molecular and cellular events that enable microbial pathogens to evade host defense mechanisms. In particular, we are interested in how bacteria that replicate inside mammalian cells create specialized vacuoles that support pathogen replication. We have been using Legionella pneumophila and Coxiella burnetii as model pathogens to study this process. We have been characterizing a type IV secretion system called Dot/Icm that delivers bacterial effector proteins into the eukaryotic host cell cytosol. The goals of this research are to determine the mechanism by which these bacterial effector proteins regulate phagosome maturation, modulate host immunity, and subvert eukaryotic cell functions.

Specialized Terms: Molecular; Cellular; Microbial pathogens; Bacteria; Vesicular transport; Legionella pneumophila; Coxiella burnetii; Macrophages; Protozoan; Proteins

Coauthors

Research Interests

Bacteria; Immune System; Macrophages; Protozoan Proteins; Legionella pneumophila; Coxiella burnetii; Vesicular Transport Proteins

Selected Publications

  • The Legionella effector RavZ inhibits host autophagy through irreversible Atg8 deconjugation.Choy A, Dancourt J, Mugo B, O'Connor TJ, Isberg RR, Melia TJ, Roy CR. The Legionella effector RavZ inhibits host autophagy through irreversible Atg8 deconjugation. Science (New York, N.Y.) 2012, 338: 1072-6. PMID: 23112293, PMCID: PMC3682818, DOI: 10.1126/science.1227026.
  • The Legionella pneumophila effector DrrA is sufficient to stimulate SNARE-dependent membrane fusion.Arasaki K, Toomre DK, Roy CR. The Legionella pneumophila effector DrrA is sufficient to stimulate SNARE-dependent membrane fusion. Cell Host & Microbe 2012, 11: 46-57. PMID: 22264512, PMCID: PMC3266541, DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2011.11.009.
  • Modulation of Rab GTPase function by a protein phosphocholine transferase.Mukherjee S, Liu X, Arasaki K, McDonough J, Galán JE, Roy CR. Modulation of Rab GTPase function by a protein phosphocholine transferase. Nature 2011, 477: 103-6. PMID: 21822290, PMCID: PMC3206611, DOI: 10.1038/nature10335.
  • Inhibition of pathogen-induced apoptosis by a Coxiella burnetii type IV effector protein.Lührmann A, Nogueira CV, Carey KL, Roy CR. Inhibition of pathogen-induced apoptosis by a Coxiella burnetii type IV effector protein. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2010, 107: 18997-9001. PMID: 20944063, PMCID: PMC2973885, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1004380107.
  • Rapid pathogen-induced apoptosis: a mechanism used by dendritic cells to limit intracellular replication of Legionella pneumophila.Nogueira CV, Lindsten T, Jamieson AM, Case CL, Shin S, Thompson CB, Roy CR. Rapid pathogen-induced apoptosis: a mechanism used by dendritic cells to limit intracellular replication of Legionella pneumophila. PLoS Pathogens 2009, 5: e1000478. PMID: 19521510, PMCID: PMC2689937, DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000478.
  • Ankyrin repeat proteins comprise a diverse family of bacterial type IV effectors.Pan X, Lührmann A, Satoh A, Laskowski-Arce MA, Roy CR. Ankyrin repeat proteins comprise a diverse family of bacterial type IV effectors. Science (New York, N.Y.) 2008, 320: 1651-4. PMID: 18566289, PMCID: PMC2514061, DOI: 10.1126/science.1158160.
  • Legionella pneumophila proteins that regulate Rab1 membrane cycling.Ingmundson A, Delprato A, Lambright DG, Roy CR. Legionella pneumophila proteins that regulate Rab1 membrane cycling. Nature 2007, 450: 365-9. PMID: 17952054, DOI: 10.1038/nature06336.
  • Multiple Legionella pneumophila effector virulence phenotypes revealed through high-throughput analysis of targeted mutant libraries.Shames SR, Liu L, Havey JC, Schofield WB, Goodman AL, Roy CR. Multiple Legionella pneumophila effector virulence phenotypes revealed through high-throughput analysis of targeted mutant libraries. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2017, 114: E10446-E10454. PMID: 29133401, PMCID: PMC5715750, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1708553114.
  • Caspase-11 stimulates rapid flagellin-independent pyroptosis in response to Legionella pneumophila.Case CL, Kohler LJ, Lima JB, Strowig T, de Zoete MR, Flavell RA, Zamboni DS, Roy CR. Caspase-11 stimulates rapid flagellin-independent pyroptosis in response to Legionella pneumophila. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2013, 110: 1851-6. PMID: 23307811, PMCID: PMC3562791, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1211521110.
  • A unique cytoplasmic ATPase complex defines the Legionella pneumophila type IV secretion channel.Chetrit D, Hu B, Christie PJ, Roy CR, Liu J. A unique cytoplasmic ATPase complex defines the Legionella pneumophila type IV secretion channel. Nature Microbiology 2018, 3: 678-686. PMID: 29784975, PMCID: PMC5970066, DOI: 10.1038/s41564-018-0165-z.
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