Faculty

Mechanism of translational fidelity and its impact on cellular fitness and codon evolution

Epigenetic regulation of plant traits and environmental adaptation

PCR development; plant genetic engineering for insect or virus resistance

Combining genetics with molecular and computational biology to learn about the mechanisms used by hosts and pathogens to recognize and respond to one another and the environment

Using high-throughput elemental profiling and quantitative genetics to understand how plants adapt to the environment

Molecular genetics of protozoan parasites – virulence and their viruses

Bacterial secondary metabolism, pathway regulation, biosynthesis and bioactive molecule discovery. Chemical ecology of Streptomyces and related actinomycetes

Microbial metabolisms and their influence on biogeochemical cycling

Examination of modern and ancient biogeochemical cycles; the coevolution of life and the Earth.

Genetics and virulence of the pathogenetic Streptococci

Focus on the biogenesis, functions, and evolutionof small RNA-directed silencing pathways in multicellular eukaryotes

The Cox lab will use genetics, bioimaging, and plant pathology to understand how plants defend themselves against microbes.

Molecular mechanisms of cytoskeleton organization and function in plants; regulation of cell shape and division

Investigations of capsule synthesis and host interactions of the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans

The role of centrioles in cell cycle progression and flagellar biogenesis in Chlamydomonas

Using genetic approaches to understand the evolutionary and ecological causes and consequences of rarity in endangered plant species.

Microbial glycobiology and its exploitation for vaccine development

Microbial biogeochemistry and metabolic stable isotopic (C/N/S) fractionation

Molecular investigation of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)

Understand how hierarchical mechanical, chemical, and electrophysiological factors contribute to important pathologies including traumatic brain injury, viral replication, and cardiac fibrosis

We study the human gut microbiome and its impact on health and nutritional status

Understand how function is encoded into disordered sequences using a combination of computational and experimental approaches

Pilus and amyloid fiber formation in bacteria: Structure, function and role in diseases of the urinary tract

Structural biology and biochemistry of plant and microbial metabolism

Gene regulation and biogenesis of extracellular components in bacteria

Plant-pathogen interactions; molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity and host susceptibility in interactions between the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae and its hosts, Arabidopsis and tomato.

Human immunodeficiency virus-host interactions

We study the molecular arms race between bacteria and phage.

Environmental regulation of bacterial growth and cell cycle progression. Antibiotic tolerance and resistance

A computational and experimental lab studying bacterial colonization and transmission at the boundary of built and natural environments and exploring microbiomes as environmental sensors and public health sentinels

How the environment shapes host-associated microbial communities both within and across species

The Mansfeld lab studies defense optimization in crop plants – exploring the intersection of defense with dynamic factors such as circadian rhythm, development, and morphology. We investigate these interactions on a fundamental and organismal level with the goal of improving agricultural productivity and sustainability.

Circadian clock regulation of physiology and development in plants

Plant molecular population genetics, phylogeography and evolutionary genomics

Mechanisms of reproductive cell regeneration and development

Photosynthesis, Nitrogen Fixation, Systems and Synthetic Biology. Our current focus is on Bioenergy Production in Cyanobacteria

Perception and response of plants to abiotic stress. ABA-perception mechanisms and hetrotrimeric G-protein function in ABA signaling

Biophysics of intrinsically disordered proteomes

The ecology and evolution of infectious diseases with a focus on wild populations of herbaceous plants and their powdery mildew pathogens

Investigating the fundamental biophysical principles of biofilm assembly

Our research focuses on understanding the epigenetic regulation of transposable elements

Molecular pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Metabolism analysis and metabolic engineering of environmental microorganisms for biofuel/chemical production

Subterranean phenotyping and characterizing the environmental and genetic factors that condition root growth

Cell size homeostasis and the retinoblastoma (RB) tumor suppressor pathway; Cell growth regulation in photosynthetic eukaryotes; Evolution of developmental complexity and sexual dimorphism in Volvocine algae

Defining how ubiquitin and other post-translational modifiers contribute to cellular regulation and turnover and how the phytochrome photoreceptor system controls plant and microbial development

Intracellular replication of Legionella pneumophila inside macrophages

Discovery and Characterization of Novel Viruses

Organic Chemistry, Biological Chemistry, Organic Synthesis, Natural Products, Antibiotics, Biosynthesis, Enzymes, Enzyme Inhibitors, Drug Delivery, Anticancer Agents, Diversity-Oriented Synthesis

Engineering synthetic regulatory systems for metabolic control, design cellular biosensors, engineering new pathways for the production of pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and chemicals

Understanding how photosynthesis and photosynthetic cells respond to high temperatures and what factors limit heat acclimation by using both green algae and land plants as models