Rate My Professor Marijke Keestra-Gounder

Her research specializes in infectious disease microbiology, focusing on pathways of innate immunity that distinguish harmless microbes from pathogens. She explores the interplay between endoplasmic reticulum stress and NOD1/NOD2 signaling in infection models including Citrobacter rodentium and Salmonella Typhimurium. NOD1 and NOD2, pattern recognition receptors that detect bacterial peptidoglycans from Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, also sense ER stress, a mechanism particularly relevant in the intestinal tract where mutations in these pathways increase susceptibility to colitis. Notable publications include "Inflammasome activation by Gram-positive bacteria: Mechanisms of activation and regulation" (Frontiers in Immunology, 2023), "NOD1 and NOD2: Beyond Peptidoglycan Sensing" (Trends in Immunology, 2017), "IRE1α-Driven Inflammation Promotes Clearance of Citrobacter rodentium Infection" (Infection and Immunity, 2022), "Nitrate-mediated luminal expansion of Salmonella Typhimurium is dependent on the ER stress protein CHOP" (bioRxiv, 2023), "NOD2 modulates MDA5 signaling to promote coxsackievirus B3 replication" (bioRxiv, 2025), "Antimicrobial overproduction sustains intestinal inflammation by inhibiting Enterococcus colonization" (Cell Host & Microbe, 2023), and "NOD1/NOD2 and RIP2 Regulate Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Induced Inflammation during Chlamydia Infection" (mBio, 2020). Her contributions advance understanding of inflammation regulation and pathogen clearance in microbial infections.