Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Syphilis is a global public health concern with 25 million cases worldwide. It is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, transmitted by sexual contact, direct contact with lesions or from an infected mother to the fetus. T. pallidum, one of the most invasive pathogens known, spreads throughout the body and establishes chronic infection causing serious clinical symptoms and even death unless treated. Although the disease is easily cured by penicillin, globally there are 12 million new infections per year. Over the last decade a startling increase in new cases has been observed in developed countries, especially in Canada. In addition to the public health concern of syphilis itself, it also significantly increases the risk for HIV infection. A better understanding of the molecular mechanism of syphilis infection is needed to find suitable vaccine targets. The Cameron lab is the only place worldwide studying the critical bacterial ability to spread throughout the human host. We identified two syphilis proteins and showed a role in attaching to and digesting host components. We think they are essential for T. pallidum spread. My project will first determine the proteins` capacity to attach to a wide variety of host components. Then, I will use an otherwise non-infectious model bacterium armored with one of the proteins to show that the protein enables the model to digest its way through an artificial tissue layer to prove its role in the spread of the bacterium. Finally, cell death caused by either protein or the model bacterium will be evaluated. This line of research fits with the general lab research aim to understand the molecular basis of syphilis infection. It will provide invaluable insight for vaccine development to prevent infection through understanding the attachment and spread of the bacterium. Development of a syphilis vaccine will decrease the incidence of this globally prevalent disease and also eliminate a significant risk factor for HIV infection.