Dr. Kryworuchko is an Immunologist who joined UBC and the BCCDC at the end of 2017. His research aims to better understand host-pathogen interactions at the cellular and molecular levels with the ultimate goal of developing new and more effective infectious disease therapeutics and vaccines. Recent efforts have been focussing on the cellular autophagy or “self-eating” pathway. Autophagy, as its name suggests, allows the cell to engulf and degrade portions of its cytoplasm for use as an energy source, and to remove superfluous or defective organelles and proteins. However, the autophagy machinery of the cell is also critical for the elimination of certain intracellular pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV. Autophagy signals the presence of pathogen to the immune system, and mobilizes innate and adaptive immune cells including monocytes/macrophages, helper and killer T cells, as well as antibody-producing B lymphocytes. Recent research focusses on the design and evaluation of autophagy-based therapeutics and vaccines against pathogens of major public health importance including Chlamydia, as well as Salmonella and other organisms resistant to currently available antimicrobial treatments.
