Current Environment:

Michael Wessels | Medical Services

Programs & Services

Languages

  • English

Michael Wessels | Education

Medical School

Duke University

1979, Durham

Internship

Internal Medicine

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

1980, Boston, MA

Residency

Internal Medicine

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

1982, Boston, MA

Fellowship

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

1982, Boston, MA

Fellowship

Infectious Diseases

Brigham & Women's Hospital/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

1985, Boston, MA

Michael Wessels | Certifications

  • American Board of Internal Medicine (General)
  • American Board of Internal Medicine (Infectious Diseases)

Michael Wessels | Professional History

Michael Wessels, MD, is a Senior Physician in Medicine  of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital, John F. Enders Professor of Pediatrics, and Professor of Medicine (Microbiology) at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Wessels served as Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Boston Children's Hospital from 2000 through 2018 and is a member of the clinical and research faculty.

He received his undergraduate education at Oberlin College, attended medical school at Duke University, and completed clinical training in medicine and Infectious Diseases in Harvard-affiliated programs. As a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Dennis Kasper, Wessels characterized antigenic properties of group B streptococcal polysaccharides and described the synthesis and immunogenicity of polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines against this important neonatal pathogen.

His more recent work has identified novel virulence functions for a number of group A streptococcal products, notably the hyaluronic acid capsular polysaccharide and the bacterial toxins streptolysin O and NAD-glycohydrolase, and regulation of these and other virulence determinants by the CsrRS two component system. Wessels is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Pediatric Society. He is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Academy of Microbiology.

Michael Wessels | Publications

I began my career as a physician-scientist in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Beth Israel and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals. In addition to my clinical practice, I directed a research program focused on streptococcal infections at the Channing Laboratory, a research division of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. From 2000 through 2018, I served as the Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital, where I have had the privilege of participating in patient care, recruiting talented faculty and trainees, and continuing research on the molecular basis of streptococcal infections.