University of Maryland-College Park · BiologyThe Gonorrhea Insight Lab
Wenxia Song · College Park, Maryland
Research Focus
Dr. Wenxia Song's lab at the University of Maryland focuses on understanding how the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae infects the female reproductive tract, often without causing symptoms. By studying the immune response and the bacteria's mechanisms of evading detection, the lab aims to improve our knowledge of gonorrhea and develop strategies for prevention and treatment, particularly in the context of rising antibiotic resistance.
Neisseria gonorrhoeaeasymptomatic infectionfemale reproductive tractcytokine responseantibiotic resistance
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate how Neisseria gonorrhoeae colonizes the cervix asymptomatically.
AIM 02Characterize cytokine production in response to gonorrhea infection.
AIM 03Determine the role of GC surface molecules in immune evasion.
AIM 04Explore how GC manipulates local immune responses in the cervix.
AIM 05Identify new strategies for preventing gonorrhea infections.
Skills the Lab Values
cell cultureex vivo infection modelscytokine assaystissue imagingspatial transcriptomics
Output against the department
Publications186top 35% of dept.359th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations4.1kbottom 31% of dept.709th of 1,033
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.