Paul Sumby 20th Lancefield International Symposium on Streptococci and Streptococcal Diseases 2017

Paul Sumby

Paul Sumby, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. Dr. Sumby received a B.S. from the University of Leicester (England, U.K.) followed by a Ph.D. in Molecular Microbiology from the University of Nottingham (England, U.K.). Subsequently, Dr. Sumby completed postdoctoral fellowships at the New England Medical Center (Boston, MA), Rocky Mountain Laboratories (Hamilton, MT), Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, TX), and The Houston Methodist Research Institute (Houston, TX). Dr. Sumby joined the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine in July 2013. Dr. Sumby has spent 15 years studying how the human bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes (also known as the group A Streptococcus, GAS) regulates gene expression in a disease-specific manner. GAS causes a broad spectrum of diseases including pharyngitis, necrotizing fasciitis, and the post-infection sequel acute rheumatic fever. The ability of this pathogen to cause such disease diversity is in part due to the coordinate expression of specific subsets of virulence factors in response to environment-dependent stimuli. Through understanding of how GAS regulates virulence factor expression the Sumby laboratory aims to develop novel therapeutic and/or preventative regimes based upon the manipulation of these regulatory pathways.