April 29, 2015

A recent paper from the lab is our first foray into the study of polymicrobial communities.  In this case, the study lead by Laura Filkins, a PhD student in the lab (shown here), examined a mixed biofilm community of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, grown on airway cells derived from a Cystic Fibrosis patient. These two pathogens are commonly found co-colonizing young CF patients.

Laura showed that when in co-culture, P. aeruginosa exoproducts can drive S. aureus from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism, and in a twist, P. aeruginosa can eat lactate, one of the fermentation products of S. aureus.  The key exoproducts produced by P. aeruginosa are siderophores and redox active HQNO (a precursor of PQS, a quorum sensing molecule), both of which likely inhibit the function of the electron transport chain (ETC) of  S. aureus and thus provide the basis for the switch to fermentation.  Surprisingly, this inhibition of ETC results in loss of viability of S. aureus, by a mechanism we do not understand, and P. aeruginosa comes to dominate the community.  This work was greatly facilitated by our colleagues in the Thayer School of Engineering and the Host-Pathogen Interaction Core, which is supported by the NIH and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  Laura's study was also highlighted by a Commentary in the Journal of Bacteriology.

April 24, 2015

Some great news today from Greg Anderson, a former postdoc in the lab.  Greg received news today that he was promoted to Associate Professor of Biology with tenure at IUPUI.   He studies interactions between Pseudomonas aeruginosa and host cells, including in the context of Cystic Fibrosis.  Check out his webpage here. Congratulations!

April 13, 2015

Jon Miller, and undergraduate working in the lab, presented a poster on the work he is doing on CRISPRs at the New England Science Symposium at Harvard Medical School this past weekend in Boston.  This meeting included undergraduates, high school students and graduate students.  Jon has been trying to understand how new spacers are inserted into CRISPRs in P. aeruginosa.

April 06, 2015

Laura Filkins, a PhD student in the lab, was recently accepted into a very competitive postdoctoral fellowship in Medical Microbiology at the Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine and ARUP Laboratories.  She will be training in a CPEP-approved Program in Medical and Public Health Laboratory Microbiology from 2016-1018, and engage in research to develop clinical laboratory diagnostics.  Trained fellows are eligible for the American Board of Medical Microbiology certification, and have the opportunity to head-up clinical microbiology labs.