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.