Join us for Dean Cribb's Cummings School's Seminar Series in person only at the Agnes Varis Auditorium on April 4, 2025 at 3pm for a presentation by Dr. Saul Tzipori.

The Anatomy of the Interface between enteric pathogens and the Gut mucosa
A 50-year journey through the Alimentary Canal
Dr. Saul Tzipori, Professor of Infectious Disease
Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine

As the subtitle suggests, the presentation will discuss my personal journey over the last 50 years investigating the nature of the interaction of various enteric pathogens with the gut mucosa, conducted on four different continents.
   
I will briefly illustrate first the anatomy and pathophysiology of the gut relevant to understanding the degree of microbial invasiveness into the mucosa, the impact this has on mucosal integrity and the clinical consequences. I will provide a panorama of the currently known significant human enteric pathogens, and the nature of the disease they inflict. I have divided them into seven categories based on the degree of mucosal invasiveness – from the least (V. cholera) to the most (Typhoid fever) invasive, visually illustrated, and the site(s) which each pathogen colonize in the gut. I will speak of pathogens which are unique to humans and of the same class but unique to animals, and those that are shared by both and consequently are considered zoonotic. 

Footnote: the choice of topic is based on the fact that we all have a GI track, and each one of us has had diarrheal illness caused by one or multiple of the pathogens listed in the presentation.

Biography
Dr. Tzipori has many years of research experience working with infectious diseases of humans and domestic animals, with reference to food and waterborne enteric pathogens (viral, bacterial, fungal, protozoa) and bacterial toxins. This includes investigating the relative contribution of virulence attributes to pathogenesis and disease, as a prelude to subsequently screening and evaluation of chemical and immune-based therapeutic agents, and vaccines. He is best known for his expertise in cryptosporidiosis, microsporidiosis (Enterocytozoon bienusi), E. coli O157:H7 diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in children, shigellosis, and Clostridium difficile, among others. PubMed currently lists 316 publications.
He led a multiyear program of major NIAID/NIDDK-funded multicenter investigations focused on the development of countermeasures against biothreat agents, facilitating to successfully competing for the award for the construction of the New England Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (NE-RBL)

Together with colleagues from Tufts Medical School, Tzipori received funds under the Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges in Global Health (GCGH; 2005–2011) to develop the Bacillus subtilis-based mucosal/oral vaccine delivery system of the needle-free, temperature-resistant vaccines against tetanus toxin and rotavirus. He received multiple subsequent awards from the Gates Foundation thereafter for the years 2014-2021.

He was Tufts University's principal investigator (PI) on the USAID project on global One Health, funded under the umbrella of Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT- 1 & 2) Program (2009–2020). This was followed by the Stop Spillover award (2020-2025) in which Tzipori had an initial key role.
 

Be sure to scan the QR code posted in AVA to receive CE credit for the session.