Associate Professor Dr. Mary Weber joined our Department in 2017 after completing her postdoctoral studies at the NIH Rocky Mountain Laboratory. Her research focuses on how Chlamydia trachomatis and Orientia tsutsugamushi, both of which are obligate intracellular bacteria, manipulate host cells using virulence factors. She has received NIH grants to study how the bacteria invade host cells and co-opt host vesicle trafficking to benefit Chlamydial development. The Weber lab continues to advance our understanding of host-pathogen interactions by combining microbial genetics with cell biology and protein biochemistry.  Let us recognize Dr. Weber being named by ASM Journal as one of the 2023 early-career investigators who embody the future of the host-microbe interaction field.