Research Interests
Inflammation
Cell death [pyroptosis]
Bacterial pathogenesis
Non-genetic variation y

Current Research
Dr. Cookson's research with the UW Molecular Microbiology laboratory revolves around the idea that a greater understanding of immune responses will provide novel insights into host-pathogen interactions. This information will help in developing effective tools for diagnosing infectious diseases and in designing therapeutic strategies that favor quality outcomes for infected hosts.

Dr. Cookson and the Microbiology laboratory also develop detection systems, including Next Generation Sequencing, for diagnosing bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections. The goal is to improve the medical management of hospitalized patients suffering from infectious diseases.