Dr. Jiang's team is identifying components of human cells that microbes use to establish an infection and replicate but that are not essential to the human host. Better understanding of microbial replication and survival from the view of host cells, the project team anticipates, will provide a foundation for novel therapeutic approaches to combat infectious diseases while simultaneously providing a low likelihood of inducing drug resistance. These compounds could potentially work by interrupting microbes from creating the environment they need to replicate in human cells.