peopleEric Harvill
Associate Professor of Microbiology and Infectious Disease
Email: harvill@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-8522
Fax:
Office: 125 Henning Building
Research
I investigate how host and pathogen characteristics and host dynamics affect the spread of respiratory infection within individuals and host populations. My group has four main research areas:
Virulence factors
- Effects of bacterial virulence factors on infection pathology and immune response to infection within a host
- How bacterial virulence factors such as toxins affect the dynamics of transmission between hosts (e.g. by lengthening infectious period)
Host immune functions
- Mechanisms of immune-mediated bacterial clearance: how they differ between organs of the respiratory tract
Genomics
Comparing genomes of closely-related pathogens to investigate important questions such as:
- Which bacterial factors determine host specificity
- How animal pathogens adapt to infect humans
- What determines the severity of pathology
- How bacteria cause persistent infections that last for the life of the host
Phylodynamics
- Emergence of human pathogens from commensals of agricultural and companion animals
- The transmission and dynamics of disease within populations
CIDD-related teaching
VSc 520: Pathobiology
Literature-based examination of the molecular basis of infectious disease, including the major molecular approaches and techniques, the strengths and weakness of each and critical analysis of experimental studies. Prerequisite: VSC 420; BIOCH 401 or BIOCH 437
VSc 497: Bacterial pathogenesis
The central themes and critical studies, examined through the primary literature.
» Find more details about or enroll in one of these courses