Bimczok Lab - Bimczok Lab | Montana State University

The majority of human and veterinary pathogens target the mucosal surfaces of the body. These mucosal sites need to maintain a delicate balance between appropriately responding to virulent pathogens and avoiding unnecessary inflammatory responses to harmless agents. The Bimczok laboratory is interested in the complex interplay between pathogens, mucosal antigen-presenting cells, and epithelial cells. The overarching goal of our work is to better understand how epithelial responses to bacteria and viruses lead to alterations in the function of antigen-presenting cells such as dendritic cells and macrophages, and how this immune cell-epithelial cell crosstalk defines the outcome of infection.

To address these research goals, we utilize:

Primary mucosal cells and tissues
Organoid and tissue chip models
A large animal model
Transgenic mouse models

Current projects, funded by the NIH and USDA:

Helicobacter pylori infection in the human gastric mucosa
SARS-CoV-2 infection in human and bat intestine
Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae infection in sheep

Recent Highlights

	New publication: our collaborative SARS-CoV-2 study has been published! October 2023

Events

April 25, 2024 @ 10:00 AM

Lexi and Lydia presenting posters at the
MSU Student Research Celebration
Bozeman, MT

May 18-24, 2024

Michelle is giving a talk at
Digestive Disease Week
Washington, D.C.

July 6-10, 2024

Jasper is presenting a poster at the
International Congress of Mucosal Immunology (ICMI)
Copenhagen, Denmark