Researcher | Research Overview
Dr. Schaefers’s research program is focused on understanding the pathogenesis and the evolution of Burkholderia and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) with the long-term goal of developing vaccines and novel therapies. These pathogens are a major concern and cause serious infections among immunocompromised patients and people with cystic fibrosis. One major area of focus is understanding the function and the evolution of two-component systems that are involved in the virulence in these pathogens. Two-component systems are one mechanism that bacteria use to sense their environment and regulate gene expression to respond to it. Techniques used in Dr. Schaefers’s research program span multiple fields, including microbiology, molecular biology, genomics, cellular and molecular immunology, and animal models of infection.
Researcher | Research Background
Dr. Matthew Schaefers earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Microbiology from the University of Minnesota. He also earned his PhD from the University of Minnesota, where his thesis project focused on understanding Staphylococcal superantigens interactions with epithelial cells and the development of novel therapeutics. He then did a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Gregory Priebe at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School investigating the role of the FixLJ system in Burkholderia. Dr. Schaefers was promoted to an Instructor at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in 2017. In 2022, Dr. Schaefers was promoted to Assistant Professor at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.