Pathology

James Musser, M.D., Ph.D. Co-Director and Executive Vice President
The Fondren Foundation Distinguished Endowed Chair
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
jmmusser@tmh.tmc.edu

Biography

Dr. Musser received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine. Following postdoctoral research at the Institute of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics, Pennsylvania State University, and residency training in laboratory medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, he joined the Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. He advanced through the academic ranks from 1991 to 1998, when he was promoted to Professor. Dr. Musser served as Chief, Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1999-2003. He returned to Houston in 2003 and joined The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in 2005. His research focuses on the molecular basis of host-pathogen interactions in group A Streptococcus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. He serves on several editorial boards, has received many national and international honors and awards, and has published greater than 270 research articles and book chapters.

Description of Research

The long-term goals of research conducted in the laboratory are to understand the molecular basis of diseases caused by the human pathogenic bacterium Group A Streptococcus (GAS) and elucidate the molecular basis underlying variation in the character of disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Genome-scale and high-throughput strategies and animal infection models (including non-human primates) are used to investigate: (1) the role of extracellular GAS proteins in host-pathogen interactions (2) potential immunoprophylaxis applications of these proteins (3) the molecular pathogenesis of human-GAS interactions. In M. tuberculosis, the laboratory is addressing the human genetics of susceptibility to this pathogen. To address these issues, a highly integrated approach is used that encompasses bacterial molecular genetics, genome sequencing, molecular population genetic analysis, and human genetic epidemiology.

Major Areas of Research

Group A Streptococcus
Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Recent Publications

Gutacker, M. M., C. A. Lux Migliaccio, S. M. ricklefs, S. Hua, B. Mathema, H. Soini, E. Shashkina, T. Bowland, X. Liu, Y. Fu, N. Williams-Bouyer, B. N. Kreiswirth, E. A. Graviss, and J. M. Musser. 2006. Single nucleotide polymorphism-based population genetic analysis Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from four geographic sites. J. Infect. Dis. In press.
Musser, J. M., and F. R. DeLeo. 2005. Progress toward a genome-wide systems biology analysis of host-pathogen interactions in Group A Streptococcus. Am. J. Pathol. In press (December).
Graham, M. R., K. Virtaneva, S. F. Porcella, W. T. Barry, B. B. Gowen, C. R. Johnson, F. A. Wright, and J. M. Musser. 2005. Group A Streptococcus transcriptome dynamics during growth in human blood reveals bacterial adaptive and survival strategies. Amer. J. Pathol. 166:455-465.
Shelburne S. A. III, P. Sumby, I. Sitkiewicz, C. Granville, F. R. DeLeo, and J. M. Musser. 2005. Central role of a bacterial two-component gene regulatory system of previously unknown function in pathogen persistence in human saliva. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102:16037-16042.
Malik, S., L. Abel, H. Tooker, A. Poon, L. Simkin, M. Girard, G. J. Adams, J. R. Starke, K. C. Smith, E. A. Graviss, J. M. Musser, and E. Schurr. 2005. Alleles of the NRAMP1 gene are risk factors for pediatric tuberculosis disease. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102:12183-12188.
Sumby, P., K. D. Barbian, D. J. Gardner, A. R. Whitney, D. M. Welty, R. D. Long, J. R. Bailey, M. J. Parnell, N. P. Hoe, G. G. Adams, F. R. DeLeo, and J. M. Musser. 2005. Extracellular deoxyribonuclease made by group A Streptococcus assists pathogenesis by enhancing evasion of the innate immune response. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102:1679-1684.
Virtaneva, K., S. F. Porcella, M. R. Graham, R. M. Ireland, C. A. Johnson, S. M. Ricklefs, I. Babar, L. Parkins, R. A. Romero, C. J. Corn, D. Gardner, J. R. Bailey, M. J. Parnell, and J. M. Musser. 2005. Longitudinal analysis of the group A Streptococcus transcriptome in experimental pharyngitis in cynomolgus macaques. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102:9014-9019.