Senior investigator at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Dr. Bernstein visited TJ during A-block, invited by the Investigation in Epidemiology eighth period club, to discuss with students the possible ramifications of his research and its applications to future students of the medical fields.

He is interested in how proteins are transported across the cell membranes of both pathogenic and nonpathogenic bacteria, i.e. research with practical benefits ranging from new antibiotics to passive vaccines against pathogenic bacteria, as well as other advantages, including “the construction of genetically engineered strains that secrete beneficial proteins into the gut.”

At the same time, his research project is not developing any new drugs at the moment and are yet to handle clinical trials and patient studies, Dr. Bernstein says. Still, the student body in the audience found connections between Dr. Bernstein’s research and their own research and labs as part of DNA science and Biology classes.