Most biologists studying pathogenic microbes focus on easy‑to‑culture strains such as Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus. MIT associate professor of biology Rebecca Lamason, however, aims to broaden the scope to include more challenging bacteria, hoping to uncover the diverse strategies pathogens use to interact with host cells. In her lab she has created new tools for analyzing the tick‑borne bacterium Rickettsia parkeri, which causes a mild spotted fever, and the food‑borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. By studying these microbes she seeks to learn how pathogens hijack host cell machinery and, in the process, gain insight into fundamental host cell functions. Lamason stresses that a single bacterium or cell type cannot reveal the full picture; the biological mechanisms are richly diverse and largely unexplored. Recently her team observed that R. parkeri forms very tight contacts with the endoplasmic reticulum, mimicking interactions normally seen between host organelles—a phenomenon not reported for other microbes, and its purpose remains under investigation.\n\nLamason’s scientific path began in high school with an interest in cell biology, continued at Millersville University where she majored in molecular biology and biotechnology and worked on chlorella viruses, and then a stint as a research technician at Hershey Medical Center studying zebrafish cancer genetics. As a PhD student at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine she focused on immunology, which taught her how different biological systems communicate. During her postdoc at the University of California, Berkeley, in Matthew Welch’s lab, she turned to host‑pathogen relationships, concentrating on R. parkeri and L. monocytogenes. The former cannot survive outside a host cell and relies entirely on host machinery, while the latter can live and replicate independently; these constraints shape their infection strategies.\n\nSince establishing her MIT lab in 2017, Lamason has identified numerous host proteins and bacterial factors that enable the two species to move between infected cells in distinct ways. To overcome technical barriers, her group pioneered a CRISPR‑based method to target specific genes in R. parkeri in 2024, and devised a labeling strategy for bacterial proteins secreted into host cells, simplifying their detection among host proteins. She notes that the lab balances solving methodological challenges with chasing unexpected observations to understand underlying mechanisms. MIT’s collaborative environment provides cross‑lab expertise, allowing her team to pursue higher‑risk ideas with community support.\n\nOutside the lab, Lamason plays in a women’s ice‑hockey league in Boston, using the sport to relieve academic stress and clear her mind.\n\nReview: Lamason’s work exemplifies the value of expanding beyond traditional model organisms; by inventing new genetic and proteomic tools she turns previously intractable pathogens into tractable systems, opening fresh avenues for cell biology and infection research.