James Musser

About James Musser

James, a researcher in bacterial pathogenesis and pathogen-host interactions, is Fondren Presidential Distinguished Chair of the Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine at Houston Methodist Research Institute. He also directs the Center for Molecular and Translational Human Infectious Diseases Research at Houston Methodist Hospital and has previously served as chief of the Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. His laboratory seeks new information on the molecular basis of infections caused by group A Streptococcus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogens. He’s currently involved in a project to identify key vaccine candidates against group A Streptococcus using molecular dissection, in vivo disease models, and analysis of clinical material. Other projects in his laboratory include collaborating internationally to elucidate the molecular genetic events that contribute to group A Streptococcus epidemics, and taking advantage of modern genetic analysis techniques to define human genetic factors determining susceptibility to tuberculosis.