BME Seminar Series: Landon Locke, PhD, The Ohio State University

Landon Locke, PhD

Post Doctoral Fellow

Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity

College of Medicine

The Ohio State University

Title: "Imaging of Infectious Diseases: new ways of gaining insight into Host-Pathogen Interactions"

Abstract:

Bacterial infections are still one of the main causes of patient morbidity and mortality worldwide. Unlike traditional tools used in infectious diseases, imaging can provide key spatial information about disease processes, enable whole-body detection and therapeutic monitoring of infections, and accelerate the development of new anti-infectives and host-directed therapies. Current imaging methods such as X-ray computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound cannot reliably distinguish infection from cancer or other processes. My over-arching goal is to study infectious diseases at the host and pathogen level through imaging. I believe this unique approach will generate new insights into host-pathogen interactions, create opportunities for early disease detection, and identify mechanisms driving disease pathogenesis.

My seminar will highlight three areas in which I am actively working: 1) developing imaging probes to detect and treat chronic, biofilm-associated infections, 2) understanding the factors and consequences of neutrophil and macrophage infiltration in the pathogenesis and host susceptibility of pulmonary tuberculosis, and 3) identifying new imaging biomarkers that are specific to the pathological formation of granulomas in sarcoidosis. 

Bio:

Landon Locke is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity at The Ohio State University. Dr. Locke earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia and then trained at the University of Pittsburgh as a postdoc under the mentorship of Dr. Timothy Corcoran. While at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Locke published two first author publications in the European Respiratory Journal on his work studying cystic fibrosis lung disease through imaging radiopharmaceutical probes delivered by inhalation. This technology promises to accelerate therapeutic development in cystic fibrosis. Dr. Locke was awarded an NIH F32 NRSA award to advance this 2D imaging technique to a 3D platform to allow regional measurements in the lung guided by anatomical localization. Dr. Locke served two terms as President of the University of Pittsburgh Postdoctoral Association. During this time, he organized workshops, networking events, and led efforts to expand postdoc representation at University functions. 

To develop imaging expertise in host-pathogen interaction, Dr. Locke came to OSU in 2015 to train in the Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity. During his first two years at OSU, Dr. Locke trained in the laboratory of Dr. Larry Schlesinger where he focused on pulmonary immunology, tuberculosis, and host interactions with the disease-causing bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Dr. Locke is currently training in the laboratory of Dr. Dan Wozniak, an expert on the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa and bacterial biofilms. Landon received his B.S. in Physics from Wittenberg University and is originally from Springfield, Ohio.