Michael R Wessels 20th Lancefield International Symposium on Streptococci and Streptococcal Diseases 2017

Michael R Wessels

Michael Wessels is Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital, John F. Enders Professor of Pediatrics, and Professor of Medicine (Microbiology and Immunobiology) at Harvard Medical School. He received his undergraduate education at Oberlin College, attended medical school at Duke University, and completed clinical training in medicine and Infectious Diseases in Harvard-affiliated programs. Together with his postdoctoral mentor Dennis Kasper, Dr. Wessels characterized antigenic properties of group B streptococcal polysaccharides and described the synthesis and immunogenicity of the first polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines against this important neonatal pathogen. His more recent work has identified novel virulence functions for a number of group A streptococcal products, notably the hyaluronic acid capsular polysaccharide and the bacterial toxins streptolysin O and NAD-glycohydrolase, and regulation of these and other virulence determinants by the CsrRS two component system. Wessels is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Pediatric Society. He is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Academy of Microbiology.