Duke University · GeneticsTobin Lab
David M. Tobin · Durham, North Carolina
Research Focus
David Tobin's lab at Duke University focuses on understanding tuberculosis, particularly how genetic factors influence the disease's development and progression. The lab studies the formation of granulomas, a key structure in TB infection, and how Mycobacterium tuberculosis interacts with the immune system. By using various animal models, including mice and zebrafish, the lab investigates the genetic basis of TB susceptibility and how bacterial traits contribute to disease dissemination.
tuberculosismycobacterial granulomasgenetic susceptibilityanimal modelsbone diseasehost-pathogen interactionsmacrophage behaviorextrapulmonary disseminationTB therapysingle-cell profiling
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate the role of genetic factors in the architecture of mycobacterial granulomas.
AIM 02Determine how bacterial genetics influence the dissemination of tuberculosis.
AIM 03Use zebrafish and murine models to probe granuloma biology related to human TB susceptibility.
AIM 04Profile immune responses within granulomas to understand TB outcomes.
AIM 05Explore functions of bacterial secreted effectors in infected macrophages.
Skills the Lab Values
PCRanimal modelingcell culturehistopathologyconfocal microscopygene expression profilingtransposon sequencingzebrafish modelsmurine modelsimmune profiling
Output against the department
Publications136bottom 43% of dept.146th of 259
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations6.7kbottom 36% of dept.166th of 259
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.