UOHUniversity of Oklahoma-Health Sciences Center · Microbiology & Immunology
C. difficile Vaccine Research Lab
Mark L Lang · Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Research Focus
Dr. Mark Lang's research lab focuses on developing better vaccines for Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile), a bacteria that causes significant health issues due to infection. The lab aims to create a more effective second-generation vaccine and understand how the toxins produced by C. difficile undermine the body's immune response. By studying these mechanisms, the team seeks to reduce the incidence of recurrent infections and improve public health outcomes related to C. difficile infections.
C. difficilevaccine developmentimmune responsetoxin Bmemory B cellspathogen-host interactionsvaccine efficacypublic healthenteric pathogensrecurrent infection
Research Aims
4AIM 01Establish a center of excellence for research on C. difficile.
AIM 02Test a second-generation vaccine candidate and analyze immune responses.
AIM 03Determine the functional diversity of memory B cell-derived antibodies specific to C. difficile toxin B.
AIM 04Investigate how C. difficile toxins influence the enteric nervous system's response to vaccination and infection.
Skills the Lab Values
vaccination strategiesmouse modelscell culturebio-statisticsimmunoassaysantibody testingT cell assayspreclinical testingresearch project managementexperimental design
Output against the department
Publications128bottom 48% of dept.250th of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations1.6kbottom 9% of dept.440th of 486
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.