User: John Seal

I am a General Surgery Resident at the University of Chicago (USA) completing a research year focusing on computational modeling of gut-derived sepsis and virulence acitvation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In collaboration with Dr Gary An at Northwestern University (Chicago, IL USA), we are developing agent-based models (ABM) to simulate complex cross-talk signaling between colonizing opportunistic pathogens and the stressed host. The laboratory of Dr John Alverdy (University of Chicago) has resolved several mechanisms of virulence activation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa in response to shifts in the intestinal mucosal microenvironment and interception of host signaling during stress. We are currently developing ABM's to instantiate multiple components of the gut milieu to capture emergent patterns in pathogen and host behavior. In addition, I have integrated a beta phase Wiki application at our University (Confluence) into the lab meetings as a local resource repository and am seeking new applications with interfaces such as myExperiment. My background is in clinical science (Surgery) and laboratory research.