Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Scott Hultgren, PhD
Helen L. Stoever Professor
- Email: hultgren@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Research summary
Interdisciplinary approach combining genetics, genomics, biochemistry, structural biology, high-resolution imaging, animal models, clinical studies and combinatorial chemistry to determine key aspects of bacterial pathogenesis and apply our knowledge to development of new therapeutics.
Key words
antibiotic-sparing therapeutics, host-pathogen interactions, bacterial pathogenesis, drug and vaccine development, multi-drug resistant E. coli, MRSA, Enterococcus, Acinetobacter, Klebsiella, urinary tract infections (UTI)
Joseph Jez, PhD
Spencer T Olin Professor and HHMI Professor
- Email: jjez@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Research summary
Exploring regulatory networks in metabolism - structural biology and biochemistry of plants and microbes
Key words
biochemistry, enzymology, plant biology, protein engineering, protein structure, structural biology
Elizabeth Kellogg, PhD
Member
- Email: ekellogg@danforthcenter.org
Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Research summary
Identifying deep similarities among plants as apparently disparate as rice, wheat, maize, and the other cereals
Key words
plant evolution; evo-devo; genomics; phylogeny
Robert Kranz, PhD
Professor
- Email: kranz@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Research summary
Gene regulation and biogenesis of extracellular components in bacteria
Key words
bacteria, gene expression, protein structure, plant biosensors, cytochromes
Barbara Kunkel, PhD
Professor
- Email: kunkel@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Research summary
Molecular genetic analysis of disease development in Pseudomonas syringae-Arabidopsis interactions
Key words
plant-microbe interactions, bacterial pathogenesis, auxin, IAA, Type III effector protein, genetics, plant biology
Toni Kutchan, PhD
Oliver M. Langenberg Distinguished Investigator
- Email: tmkutchan@danforthcenter.org
Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Research summary
Plant natural product biosynthesis and metabolic engineering of medicinal plants
Key words
alkaloids, biochemistry, biosynthesis, enzymology, medicinal plants, transcriptome sequencing
Sebla Kutluay, PhD
Associate Professor
- Email: kutluay@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Computational and Systems Biology
Research summary
Human immunodeficiency virus-host interactions
Key words
Michele LeRoux, PhD
Assistant Professor
- Email: mleroux@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Molecular Cell Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Research summary
We study the molecular arms race between bacteria and phage
Key words
bacteria, phage, bacteriophage, co-evolution
Petra Levin, PhD
George William and Irene Koechig Freiberg Professor
- Email: plevin@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Research summary
Bacterial growth and antibiotic susceptibility
Key words
Bacterial, growth size, antibiotics, tolerance, antibiotic resistance, systems biology, cytoskeleton, biochemistry, microbiology, microscopy
Fangqiong Ling, PhD
Assistant Professor
- Email: fangqiong@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Computational and Systems Biology
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Research summary
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
Key words