The O'Connor Lab

Research: Microbial pathogenesis

 

Marvelous Microbes: The co-evolutionary arms race between microbes and their host, exemplified by the interaction between Pseudomonas and plants.

Research: Function of bacterial cell surface signaling system in ‘Host-pathogen interaction.‘

 

Marvelous Microbes: I am curious about microbial decision making process during stress (host/environmental) response.

Research: The role of host lipid metabolism during infection.

 

Marvelous Microbes: Thermococcus gammatolerans is the most radiation-resistant Archaeal species and repairs DNA in stationary phase faster than it does in exponential phase

Research: How Legionella modulate host cells through secreted virulence proteins.

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Marvelous Microbes: I am fascinated by quorum sensing and how bacteria communicate with each other to coordinate responses

Research: How bacterial pathogens sense their environment and elicit an adaptive response. 

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Marvelous Microbes: I find the ability of some predatory bacteria, such as Bdellovibrio, to hunt down and prey upon other bacteria fascinating.

Research: How intracellular vacuolar pathogens scavenge nutrients from the host cell during infection. 

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Marvelous Microbes: Bacterial dueling using Type VI secretion systems, that deliver toxins to competing bacteria on the tip of what is effectively a molecular sword.

Research: Using bioinformatics and computational biology to interrogate intracellular signaling and protein functional networks of bacteria during infection.

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Marvelous Microbes: The Legionella Dot/Icm secretion system is a macromolecular machine consisting of 30+ proteins that translocates over 300 effectors across two lipid bilayers.

Research: Antibiotic resistance mechanisms and the molecular adaptations that render the bacteria more or less susceptible to antibiotics.

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Marvelous Microbes: Sporulation in gram-positive bacteria, and the ability of spores to survive harsh environmental conditions and germinate in response to specific stimuli

Research: All things amoeba, including their predation preferences and their impact on Legionella evolution and virulence.

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Marvelous Microbes: Myxogastria are a genus of slime molds (a type of amoeba) known as the largest single-celled organisms in the world-- reaching up to 30 square meters in size and a mass of 40 lbs!

Research: How bacterial pathogens modulate host cell biology through secreted effector proteins

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Marvelous Microbes: Recently, scientists discovered the world’s oldest evidence of fungi that existed 635 million years ago during the frigid ‘snowball earth period’. The emergence of such microbes helped change the Earth’s biochemistry to support new thawed ecosystems!

Research: Dissecting signaling systems that allow pathogens to monitor and adapt to their environments

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Marvelous Microbes: Every oxygen molecule we inhale depends on a microbe or a descendant of a microbe 

Research: The impact of cell wall structure and function on bacterial virulence.

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Marvelous Microbes: One fascinating thing that a microbe does is form intricate biofilms to protect them from environmental stressors and antibiotics, which highlights their ability to adapt and thrive in harsh conditions.