Faculty Directory

Joanna B. Goldberg, PhD

Joanna B. Goldberg, PhD headshot

Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Division of Pulmonology, Allergy/Immunology, Cystic Fibrosis and Sleep
Emory University School of Medicine

EMAIL: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
PHONE: 404-727-6760

PubMed

Biography

The research in her laboratory is supported by grants from the CF Foundation and the NIH.Dr. Goldberg joined the Center and the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine as a Full Professor in January 2013.  Since arriving at Emory she has begun to expand her research interests to include studies of the microbiome of CF, changes in the metabolic profile of respiratory pathogens associated with acute exacerbations in CF, and determining why respiratory infections are more serve and frequent in individuals with CF-related diabetes.Dr. Goldberg’s research focuses on the strategies used by bacteria to cause diseases in humans, in particular, respiratory infections in patients with CF.  Her laboratory investigates the synthesis and regulation of surface polysaccharides and other potential adhesions and virulence factors from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and members of the Burkholderia cepacia complex, both of which are key pathogens in CF.  The general approach is to perform bioinformatic and genomic analysis of these bacteria and to construct and characterize specific bacterial mutants.  These constructed mutants are then monitored for relevant phenotypic and genotypic characteristics and changes in the virulence and physiology using in in vivo and in vitro models of infection.  The long-term goal of this work is to devise rational methods to disrupt virulence and promote clearance of infecting bacteria.Joanna B. Goldberg, Ph.D.  Dr. Goldberg received her BA in Biology from Boston University and PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from University of California (UC), Berkeley.  Following postdoctoral training at UC Berkeley, she took her first faculty position in Boston at the Channing Laboratory, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School.  In 1996, she was recruited as an Associate Professor to the Department of Microbiology at the University of Virginia and moved up the ranks to Full Professor.   

Research Center(s)