Dr. William Picking assists in the research and development of the company’s vaccines, having specialized in intracellular bacterial pathogens for more than 25 years. He focuses on the molecular basis for how pathogen invasion of human cells occurs via type III secretion systems (T3SS). Dr. Picking is investigating how Shigella flexneri uses its T3SS to subvert normal colonic epithelial cell behavior to promote its entry into human intestinal cells. Understanding these microbial injection devices lays the foundation for developing new ways to treat and prevent bacterial infections. Dr. Picking is the Chair of Veterinary Pathobiology at the University of Missouri.  He previously was a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at The University of Kansas, where he directed the Kansas Vaccine Institute. Dr. Picking received his Bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Kansas State University and his PhD in microbiology from The University of Kansas.