Our labs are run jointly by Drs. Robert Watson and Kristin Patrick. Together, we are interested how the macrophage innate immune response is regulated during bacterial infection. By leveraging training in diverse fields and combining our toolboxes, our collaborative lab is able to study all aspects of innate immunity and the host-pathogen interface—from molecules to mice!
The Watson lab studies the Mycobacterium tuberculosis host-pathogen interface, and is particularly focused how Mtb cytosolic access and mitochondrial homeostasis impact bacterial pathogenesis in macrophages ex vivo and in mouse models of infection.
The Patrick lab studies the contributions of RNA binding proteins to macrophage activation and how post-transcriptional regulation of innate immune gene expression (mostly at the level of pre-mRNA splicing) impacts infection outcomes.
R E C E N T N E W S
April 2025: Welcome to our three new Vanderbilt University graduate students! Taylor Newbolt (Watson lab), Kayla Carmichael (Watson lab), and Jessie Huskey (Patrick lab)
March 2025: Congrats to Cory Mabry on his first first-author paper on Mtb susceptibility in Polg mutator mice
August 2024: Hello Music City! Our labs relocated to Vanderbilt University Medical Center
June 2024: Welcome to our two newest lab members: Dr. Xinwei Geng, who will postdoc in the Watson lab, and Stacy Hahn, research assistant and lab manager.
