Persistent bacterial infections involving Pseudomonas aeruginosa pose serious problems for human health including Cystic Fibrosis patients. After causing an initial acute disease state, which is kept in check by an adaptive immune response, Pseudomonas aeruginosa establishes persistent infection and colonizes the host by evading immune surveillance. The goal of our program is to elucidate cellular and molecular mechanisms that are involved in the host-pathogen interactions during persistent infection with the aim of devising new therapeutic approaches to treat respiratory infections.