RESEARCH FOCUS
- Development of antimicrobial alternatives to antibiotics
- Structure/function/bioengineering studies of bacteriophage endolysins
- Bacteriophage-derived immunotherapeutics
- Use of bacteriophage proteins for bacterial diagnostics
- Rapid dispersion of biofilms with bacteriophage depolymerases
- Streptococcal/Staphylococcal therapeutic approaches
Dr. Nelson holds a joint appointment between the Department of Veterinary Medicine in College Park, MD and the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) in Rockville, MD. His laboratory is physically located in Rockville, but he splits his time between offices at both locations.
College Park Contact:
VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
Department of Veterinary Medicine
8075 Greenmead Drive
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Phone: 301-314-6832
Fax: 301-314-6855
Rockville Contact:
Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research
9600 Gudelsky Drive
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 240-314-6249
Lab: 240-314-6230
Fax: 240-314-6225
The Nelson laboratory studies several proteins derived from bacteriophage that possess an inherent antimicrobial potential against both human and animal pathogens. Ongoing projects include: •Structure/function studies of bacteriophage endolysins •Thermodynamic engineering of endolysins •Measuring endolysin kinetics •Use of bacteriophage proteins for bacterial diagnostics •Rapid dispersion of polymicrobial biofilms with bacteriophage depolymerases •Strategies to re-sensitize vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to vancomycin •Engineering PlyCB, an endolyisn, for use as a novel implant coating •Non-invasive thermal ablation of bacteria using functionalized nanoparticles
