Harvard University · Microbiology & ImmunologyCholera Pathogenesis Lab
John Joseph Mekalanos · Cambridge, Massachusetts
Research Focus
John Joseph Mekalanos's lab at Harvard Medical School focuses on understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of Vibrio cholerae, the bacteria responsible for cholera. Their research explores how this pathogen interacts with the host immune system, commensal organisms, and viral agents. They also work on developing innovative vaccines and therapeutic approaches that could have far-reaching implications for public health and microbial immunology.
Vibrio choleraecholeraimmunologymicrobial pathogenesisvaccinologycGAMPtype VI secretion systeminnate immune responsebacterial geneticsdrug development
Research Aims
4AIM 01Investigate the biological activities of cGAMP produced by Vibrio cholerae and its effects on the host immune system.
AIM 02Determine how cholera toxin affects host metabolism and its implications for disease transmission.
AIM 03Explore the mechanisms by which V. cholerae uses the Type VI secretion system to interact with commensal organisms.
AIM 04Develop and test new probiotic-like vaccine strategies for cholera using live attenuated strains.
Skills the Lab Values
PCRcell culturemouse modelsflow cytometryWestern blotRNA sequencingmicroscopyCRISPRgenetic manipulationimmunological assays
Output against the department
Publications380top 10% of dept.49th of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations56ktop 4% of dept.18th 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.