Event Category: Weekly Meeting

TRAC Seminar Series

The Tuberculosis Research Advancement Center (TRAC) Seminar on Wednesday, November 5, 2025 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET will be held in the Carnegie 328 Conference Room and via Zoom.

**Please note that unfortunately we will no longer be able to provide lunch during these meetings**

“Tuberculosis and increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases: Emerging epidemiologic evidence”

Matthew J Magee, PhD MPH
Associate Professor
Departments of Global Health and Epidemiology
Rollins School of Public Health
Emory University

Matthew completed his formal training in epidemiology and his research focuses on the intersection between tuberculosis and non-communicable diseases. Much of Matthew’s recent research includes clinical and healthcare database studies that evaluate the impact of tuberculosis on risk of diabetes melltius and cardiovascular diseases.

This seminar is presented by the Clinical Core and will be held in-person in the Carnegie 328 Conference Room and via Zoom.

Join via Zoom: Updated link will require Passcode
Topic: TRAC Seminar Series
Time: Every week on Wednesday at 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: https://jhjhm.zoom.us/j/94704979755
Meeting ID: 947 0497 9755
Passcode: 179967

TRAC Seminar Series

The Tuberculosis Research Advancement Center (TRAC)  Seminar will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2025 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET in CRB-2, 1M.13 or via Zoom.

“Continuing tales of the tubercle bacillus: have tubercle, will travel”

Kyu Rhee, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine,
Vice Chair for Research Department of Medicine,
Interim co-chief Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine,
Co-director Cornell Center for Antimicrobial Resistance
Weill Cornell Medicine

Kyu Rhee is an infectious disease physician-scientist and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine where he also leads 3 physician-scientist training programs, including the DoM PSTP, BWF MD-only physician-scientist training program and an NIAID-funded R38 StARR. He received his MD PhD degrees from the University of California, Irvine, where he studied the biochemical mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in E. coli, and subsequently completed his clinical training in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Weill Cornell where following a brief postdoc in the laboratory of Dr. Carl Nathan, he has spent his career studying clinically relevant features of the basic biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. He also serves as Vice chair of the ASCI Physician-Scientist Development Committee and as a member of AAIM Research Committee and the National Association of Clinician Scientists.

The October TRAC seminars are presented by the Microbiology, Immunology, Animal Modeling & Imaging (MIAMI) Core.

Join via Zoom: Updated link will require Passcode
Topic: TRAC Seminar Series
Time: Every week on Wednesday at 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: https://jhjhm.zoom.us/j/94704979755
Meeting ID: 947 0497 9755
Passcode: 179967

TRAC Seminar Series

The Tuberculosis Research Advancement Center (TRAC)  Seminar will be held on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET in CRB-2, 1M.13 or via Zoom.

“Investigating the protective effects of M. bovis BCG therapy against dementia in a mouse model of Tauopathy”

 

Somnath Shee, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Laboratory of Dr. William Bishai
Center for Tuberculosis Research
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine

I earned my PhD (2022) in “Molecular pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis” from Dr. Amit Singh’s laboratory, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. During my graduate program, (1) I utilized high-throughput technologies (transposon mutagenesis, FACS, and Illumina sequencing) combined with a redox-biosensor tool to identify the complete genomic requirement of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) for maintaining basal redox homeostasis. Disrupting this homeostasis increased bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics and host stress (PMID: 37642294); (2) I described a novel Mtb response to moxifloxacin (a key drug for MDR-TB). Unlike non-pathogenic E. coli, Mtb reduced respiration when challenged with moxifloxacin. Notably, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) restored respiration, enhanced ROS production, increased drug lethality, and limited resistance emergence in mice (PMID: 35975988). This work highlights NAC’s potential to enhance fluoroquinolone efficacy.

My postdoctoral research (2022-present) in Prof. Bishai’s laboratory is to discover molecular mechanisms that unify major determinants of Tuberculosis (TB) disease (malnutrition, smoking, aging, among others). We identified a signature of senescent myeloid cells in the lung from TB-susceptible mouse models that form human-like necrotic granulomas. Currently, we are working to repurpose senolytics as host-directed therapy to target TB.

In addition to this project, I am actively involved in developing mycobacteria-based preventive therapy for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). I’ll discuss the major findings of this research in this TRAC seminar.

The October TRAC seminars are presented by the Microbiology, Immunology, Animal Modeling & Imaging (MIAMI) Core.

Join via Zoom: Updated link will require Passcode
Topic: TRAC Seminar Series
Time: Every week on Wednesday at 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: https://jhjhm.zoom.us/j/94704979755
Meeting ID: 947 0497 9755
Passcode: 179967

TRAC Seminar Series

The Tuberculosis Research Advancement Center (TRAC)  Seminar will be held on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET in CRB-2, 1M.13 or via Zoom.

“Understanding how γδ T cells mediate protection against M. tuberculosis”

Chetan Seshadri, MD
Professor of Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine

Dr. Seshadri received his MD from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Duke University Health System.  He served as a field doctor for Medecins sans Frontieres(Doctors Without Borders) prior to fellowship training in Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Brigham & Women’s Hospital.  He currently leads a translational research program whose focus is to understand the factors required for protective immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The research conducted in the Seshadri Lab has direct relevance for developing the next generation of vaccines for tuberculosis. Dr. Seshadri is also the Director of the Seattle Tuberculosis Research Advancement Center (SEATRAC) whose mission is to catalyze new avenues of research and train the next generation of TB scientists. Post-doctoral applications are welcome.

The October TRAC seminars are presented by the Microbiology, Immunology, Animal Modeling & Imaging (MIAMI) Core.

Join via Zoom: Updated link will require Passcode
Topic: TRAC Seminar Series
Time: Every week on Wednesday at 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: https://jhjhm.zoom.us/j/94704979755
Meeting ID: 947 0497 9755
Passcode: 179967

TRAC Visiting Faculty Seminar

The Tuberculosis Research Advancement Center (TRAC) Visiting Faculty Seminar will be held on Wednesday, October 15th from 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET in CRB-2, 1M.13 or via Zoom.  Add to Calendar.

“The biology and ontogeny of alveolar macrophages across the age spectrum”

Larry Schlesinger, MD
Professor, President and CEO
Texas Biomedical Research Institute
Principal Investigator, Interdisciplinary NexGen TB Research Advancement Center (IN-TRAC)

Larry S. Schlesinger, MD became Professor, President and CEO of Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio, TX in 2017 and is leading a transformational process focused on scientific growth and cultural change, a new campus master plan and new research and education programs. He is a leading physician scientist whose research program focuses on how the lung environment shapes alveolar macrophage biology in the context of the pathogenesis of tuberculosis and diseases caused by other intracellular pathogens that subvert lung immune mechanisms. He translates these discoveries into new platforms and assays for host-directed therapies for infectious diseases. He has authored 260 peer-reviewed articles and reviews, served as editor of 2 books and has written several chapters in leading textbooks. He has been continually funded by the NIH and other federal agencies as well as private foundations such as the BMGF for more than 35 years. He has trained ~ 180 individuals and led NIH-funded training programs, including the Ohio State University MSTP 2011-2017. He is a past NIH NIAID Council member and Fellow of the AAAS, IDSA, AAP and AAM.

This Visiting Faculty Seminar and the October TRAC Seminars are presented by the Microbiology, Immunology, Animal Modeling & Imaging Core

Join via Zoom: New link for 2025-2026
Topic: TRAC Seminar Series
Time: Every week on Wednesday at 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
https://jhjhm.zoom.us/j/94704979755?pwd=YpHbpfn2jpsUhPl2DVXtYsehDQSrMP.1
Meeting ID: 947 0497 9755
Passcode: 179967