Bacteriology | Research Interests

Name	Email	PhD Program
Liu, Qingyun EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Genetics & Molecular Biology RESEARCH INTEREST Bacteriology, Bioinformatics, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Genomics, Microscopy/Imaging, Molecular Biology, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Pathogenesis & Infection	Traditionally, basic science has sought to enter the translational pipeline through what can be referred to as “Bottom-Up” science, that is, studies that start with a hypothesis in the lab and aim to develop clinical relevance of the findings. In some cases, notably in conventional antibiotic development, this has worked well – but it assumes one-size fits all solutions that are only as good as our assumptions about the biology of many infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. By contrast, my research focuses on a “Top-Down” approach, leveraging the power of bacterial population genomics to identify bacterial processes important for Mtb success in people and to then employ cutting-edge experimental techniques to mechanistically dissect these processes with the goal of leveraging them using new translational tools. In my work to date, I have applied this “Top-Down” strategy to define bacterial determinants of treatment outcomes and transmission success, as evident in first-author/corresponding author publications in prestigious journals such as Science, Nature Ecology Evolution, Cell Host Microbe, Science Advances, Genome Biology, PNAS, etc. My work combines expertise in evolutionary biology and bacterial genomics, cutting-edge bacterial genetics and high-throughput experimental phenotyping. In my own lab, I will use these tools to (1) define the biological mechanisms that enable Mtb to survive antibiotic treatment; (2) identify bacterial determinants of TB transmission success; and (3) elucidate the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the emergence of new bacterial pathogens.
van Duin, David WEBSITE EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM Microbiology & Immunology RESEARCH INTEREST Antibiotics/Antivirals, Bacteriology, Disease, Pathogenesis & Infection, Translational Medicine	I am a clinical/translational researcher in Infectious Diseases. I am the Director of the Immunocompromised Host Program – which provides ID care to patients with transplants, malignancies, and burns. My primary research interests are antibacterial resistance in gram-negative bacilli, and infections in vulnerable patients. I am the PI for the Carbapenem Resistance Consortium for Klebsiella and other Enterobacteriaceae (CRACKLE) and PI for the Multi-Drug Resistant Organism (MDRO) Network. I am also supported by NIAID to evaluate community origins of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales.
Bhatt, Urja EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Bacteriology, Immunology, Virology	“1) Viral and non-viral Gene therapy 2) Applying single-cell multi-omics technology to learn about gene expression during viral infection and disease pathology 3) Infectious diseases and development of novel vaccine platforms”
Hand, Emily EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Bacteriology, Pathogenesis & Infection, Translational Medicine	“I am interested in the intersection of microbial pathogenesis and translational/public health applications. Broadly, this includes infectious diseases, the microbiome, translational/clinical research, and epidemiology.”
Ogrodniczuk, Marcin EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Bacteriology, Pathogenesis & Infection, Pathology	“I’m interested in microbiology and infectious disease research. I am particularly interested in the use of animal models to understand immune system mechanisms.”
DiMaulo-Milk, Emily EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Bacteriology, Immunology, Virology	“I’m interested in understanding the mechanism by which pathogens cause disease and evade immune response. Ultimately, I am hoping to provide the foundation for improving current therapeutics designed to combat viral infection.”
Rueppell, Anika EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Bacteriology, Immunology, Pathogenesis & Infection	“I am interested in exploring how host immune systems and infectious agents affect one another and how these interactions impact disease outcomes. Some questions that interest me include how immune responses to pathogens can increase symptoms or change disease outcomes, how pathogens can take advantage of altered/compromised immunity, and how the combined variability of pathogen populations and human immunity can cause variable disease states. In particular, I am interested in bacteria in the respiratory and/or gastrointestinal systems.”
Bartelt, Luther WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Microbiology & Immunology RESEARCH INTEREST Antibiotics/Antivirals, Bacteriology, Immunology, Metabolism, Microbiome, Model Organisms, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Translational Medicine, Virology	Our lab performs translational investigations of nutritional and microbiota determinants of host-pathogen interactions. We use gnotobiotic techniques (eg. germ free) mice to investigate complex microbe-microbe interactions in the context of host malnutrition, a common but poorly understood global health problem. Specific pathogens we model include Giardia (a ubiquitous parasite with unclear mechanisms of pathogenesis) and other intestinal parasites and multi drug resistant Enterobacterales (eg. Klebsiella). We work with several collaborators to translate findings in experimental models to outcomes in human cohorts. Emerging projects include determinants of host immune responses to mucosal viral infections and vaccines (eg. Polio and SARS-CoV-2).
Rowe-Conlon, Sarah WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Microbiology & Immunology RESEARCH INTEREST Antibiotics/Antivirals, Bacteriology, Diabetes, Drug Delivery, Drug Discovery, Pathogenesis & Infection, Pharmacology, Translational Medicine	My lab studies recalcitrant bacterial infections and antibiotic treatment failure. Focusing on bacteremia and wound infection, we utilize a range of in vitro, tissue culture and mouse models to understand the precise nature of treatment failure and exploit this knowledge to modulate antibiotic activity in the host environment. My long-term goal is to bring improved therapeutic strategies to the bedside.
Rosenthal, Adam WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Microbiology & Immunology RESEARCH INTEREST Bacteriology, Molecular Biology, Pathogenesis & Infection, Systems Biology	Our lab uses a systems biology approach to study phenotypic heterogeneity in bacteria. We develop tools that quantify single cell bacterial transcription. We then compare dynamic measurements during vegetative growth and infection to identify regulators of gene expression and mechanisms that bacteria use to coordinate community organization. With this data we want to understand the role of heterogeneity and noise in infectious disease.

Research Interest: Bacteriology