Vincent Tam, PhD

Research Interests

My research focuses on the complex interplay between microbes and the host immune response. When confronted with pathogens, the immune system induces inflammation, altering the vasculature and triggering the infiltration of immune cells to the site of infection. Consequently, microbial pathogens have evolved mechanisms to evade host defenses at various stages of the inflammatory response. While the induction of inflammation is tightly regulated to ensure pathogen clearance, the resolution of inflammation is equally critical to avoid excessive tissue damage and detrimental inflammatory-mediated pathology, including autoimmune disease and cancer. My specific interest is to study the resolution stage, when the immune response is actively down-regulated during the return to homeostasis. I am investigating the molecular pathways driving this process as well as the mechanisms by which pathogens exploit the resulting vulnerability of the host, using models of influenza virus/Staphylococcus aureus super-infection. I will combine global systems biology approaches and targeted molecular methods to understand the interactions between microbial pathways and immune networks.

Educational Background

• Fellowship, Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, 2017
• Fellowship, Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, 2011
• Fellowship, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2009
• PhD, Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2008
• BS, Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2000

Memberships

• American Society of Microbiologists

Digital Bibliography

View PubMed Publications

Additional Publications