Graduate Research Topics

Stephen T. Abedon
Bacteriophage Ecology, History, and Behavior.
 
Brian M. Ahmer
Detection of other microbial species and the host environment by Salmonella.
 
Birgit Alber
Biochemistry of central carbon metabolism.
 
Irina Artsimovitch
Molecular mechanisms of transcription elongation,elongation control of virulence genes in proteobacteria.
 
Human microbiome, bioinformatics
 
innate immune response of macrophages to Legionella pneumophila and Burkholderia cenocepacia, microbial pathogenesis, host-pathogen interaction, autophagy, NOD-like receptors, non-apoptotic functions of caspases and the inflammasome complex. 
 
functional genomics, bacterial biofilms, bacterial pathogenesis
 
bordetella vaccines, cancer immunology
 
Kurt Fredrick
Molecular mechanism of reading frame maintenance during translation.
 
Protein-aided RNA catalysis.
 
John Gunn
Salmonella/Francisella pathogenesis and host cell interactions.
 
Tina M. Henkin
Transcription termination control in Gram-positive bacteria; RNA structure/function.
 
signal transduction, evolutionary genomics, computational biology 
 

Discovery, biosynthesis, and chemical ecology of microbial natural products; bioactivity and mode of action of antibiotics; biocatalyst development

Joseph A. Krzycki
Biochemistry and molecular biology of methanogenic Archaea emphasizing methane formation and their genetic encoding of the novel amino acid pyrrolysine.

 

Jesse Kwiek
HIV-1 transmission and host-viral interactions.
 
biophysics, microbial metabolism, bio-fuels and bio-products 
 
immumo-oncology, head and neck carcinogenesis and cancer chemoprevention, x chromosome inactivation and sex differences in neurologic disorders
 
Chad A. Rappleye
Molecular Mechanisms of virulence by Histoplasma capsulatum.
 
Global change microbiology and microbial metaproteomics.
 
Obligatory Intracellular Bacteria; Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Neorickettsia
 
Natividad Ruiz
Envelope biogenesis in Gram-negative bacteria.
 
Genome evolution, insect microbe interactions, and nutrient cycling.
 
Abhay Satoskar
Immune mechanisms that determine outcome of "New world" cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis.
 
Bacterial toxins and infections diseases
 
Phage ecology and evolution, phage-host interaction biology, and phage discovery through (meta)genomics.
 
Prevention, diagnostic and treatment strategies related to Bacterial biofilm infection
 
Daniel Wozniak
Bacterial pathogenesis and gene regulation.
 
Post-translational modifications, Protein Fatty Acylation; Ubiquitination, Influenza Virus, Sendai Virus; Innate Immunity, Interferon
 
Ahmed E. Yousef
Microbial safety of food; foodborne pathogens; preservation technologies; mechanism of resistance.