Nizet Lab People: Jason Cole

Jason Cole, Ph.D.
Postgraduate Researcher

Jason Cole hails from Wollongong, Australia. He completed his undergraduate degree in Biotechnology at the University of Wollongong where he completed an honors disseration on pertussis toxin processing and the generation of attenuated strains of pathogenic Bordetella species. Jason then joined the graduate program at the University, and completed his PhD doctoral studies in the laboratory of Prof. Mark Walker, where his dissertation was entitled "Characterization of cell wall proteins, virulence factor maturation and invasive disease trigger of group A Streptococcus."

Jason is the recipient of a C. J. Martin Overseas Biomedical Fellowship from the Australian NHMRC in support of his current postdoctoral studies, which represent an ongoing collaboration of our laboratory with those of Dr. Walker, Prof. Malak Kotb in Memphis, Tennessee and Prof. G. Singh Chhatwal in Braunschweig, Germany.

Jason's research on the molecular genetic events that determine the invasive disease potential of GAS, including the roles of DNAse and plasminogen activation. He is also investigating the potential of several novel surface expressed, highly conserved, and non-immunocrossreactive antigens of GAS as vaccine candidates.