Dr. Dennis’ research focuses on Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochetal agent of Lyme disease, and Chlamydia trachomatis, the leading cause of bacteria sexually transmitted infections (STIs) worldwide. Lyme disease research includes regulation of inflammation in resistance and susceptible mouse strains, and how interleukin-10 (IL-10) and suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins may be involved in this phenomenon. For C. trachomatis, our emphasis is control of inflammation using immunomodulatory agents alone and combined with nanoparticles. C. trachomatis vaccine studies include the use of C. trachomatis recombinant proteins and synthetic peptides as vaccine candidates coupled with a multifaceted nanotechnology approach for vaccine development in the mouse model. Several techniques post-docs and graduate students employ for these projects include cloning/protein expression, molecular immunology, microarray, PCR array, Taqman qRT-PCR, Multiplex and single ELISAs, confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, zetasizer and zeta potential. Our goal is to develop immunotherapeutic agents to control inflammation in Lyme disease and Chlamydia, and development of new vaccine delivery systems to enhance systemic/mucosal immunity against Chlamydia.
