• B.S. Biological Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi
• Ph.D., Microbiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is the leading cause of acute otitis media and community acquired pneumonia worldwide. However, far more commonly it is carried asymptomatically in the nasopharynx of healthy humans. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that allow this bacterium to switch from harmless commensal to invasive pathogen is essential to the development of new prevention and treatment strategies.  My laboratory focuses on both sides of the host-pathogen interaction by characterizing how the innate immune response functions to prevent these types of infections and also how virulence mechanisms of S. pneumoniae enable it to cause disease. The overall goal of our research is to identify new targets for intervention which will help to decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with this pathogen.

Cutright A.J., Al Mohanna T., Matthews E.L., Aulds J.M., Thornton J.A., Stokes S.L., Emerson J.P. Calorimetric analysis of AdcR and its interactions with zinc(II) and DNA. J Inorg Biochem. 2023 Oct;247:112305. doi: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2023.112305. Epub 2023 Jul 5. PMID: 37441924. 

Raju S., Sheridan P.E., Hauer A.K., Garrett A.E., Connell D.E., Thornton J.A., Stokes S.L., and Emerson J.P. Cu-Catalyzed Chan-Evans-Lam Coupling reactions of 2-Nitroimidazole with Aryl boronic acids: An effort toward new bioactive agents against S. pneumoniae. Chem Biodivers. 2022 Aug;19(8):e202200327. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.202200327. Epub 2022 Aug 3. PMID: 35819995; PMCID: PMC10184775. 

Manzer H.S., Nguyen D.T., Park J.Y., Park N., Seo K.S., Thornton J.A., Nobbs A.H., Doran K.S. The Group B Streptococcal Adhesin BspC Interacts with Host Cytokeratin 19 To Promote Colonization of the Female Reproductive Tract. mBio. 2022 Oct 26;13(5):e0178122. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01781-22. Epub 2022 Sep 7. PMID: 36069447; PMCID: PMC9600255. 

Kennedy II D.E., Mody P., Gout J.F.,Wei W., Seo K.S., Olivier A.K., Rosch J.W., Thornton J.A. Contribution of Puma to Inflammatory Resolution during Early Pneumococcal Pneumonia. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2022 May 26;12:886901. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.886901. eCollection 2022.PMID: 35694536. 

Hu Y., Park N., Seo K.S., Park J.Y., Somarathne R.P., Olivier A.K., Fitzkee N.C., Thornton J.A. Pneumococcal surface adhesion A protein (PsaA) interacts with human Annexin A2 on airway epithelial cells. Virulence. 2021 Dec;12(1):1841-1854. doi: 10.1080/21505594.2021.1947176. PMID: 34233589; PMCID: PMC8274441

Seo K.S., Park N., Rutter J.K., Park Y., Baker C.L., Thornton J.A., Park J.Y. Role of Glucose-6-Phosphate in Metabolic Adaptation of Staphylococcus aureus in Diabetes. Microbiol Spectrum. 2021 Oct 31;9(2):e0085721. doi: 10.1128/Spectrum.00857-21. Epub 2021 Sep 22. PMID: 34549996 PMCID: PMC8557822 

Burcham L.R., Hill R.A., Caulkins R.C., Emerson J.P., Nanduri B., Rosch J.W., Fitzkee N.C., Thornton J.A. Streptococcus pneumoniae metal homeostasis alters cellular metabolism. Metallomics. 2020 Sep 23;12(9):1416-1427. doi: 10.1039/d0mt00118j. PMID: 32676626 

Ayoola M.B., Shack L.A., Nakamya M.F., Thornton J.A., Swiatlo E., Nanduri B. Polyamine Synthesis Effects Capsule Expression by Reduction of Precursors in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Front Microbiol. 2019 Aug 29;10:1996. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01996. PMID: 31555234; PMCID: PMC6727871