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As mentioned on the previous page, my research involved the functional genomic analysis of the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae. This bacterium is a significant human pathogen. Prior to the development of a vaccine against type B capsulated H. influenzae (Hib), Hib was a major cause of bacterial meningitis in children in developed countries. This vaccine only works against Hib, and thus is not effective against strains of H. influenzae that have other types of polysaccharide capsule nor against non-capsulated strains, which we call non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi). NTHi is currently the second leading cause of ear infections (acute otitis media) in children, and soon will be the leading cause. While this may not seem significant, it is estimated that OM costs more than 1 billion dollars to treat per year in the United States. It also can lead to life altering complications, including hearing loss and developmental disorders. The following pages contain more detailed information about my dissertation work: Introduction to competence and transformation Discovery of new competence-regulated operons in Haemophilus influenzae
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