Download The expression of motility functions in the soil bacterium Bacillus

I find the biochemical mechanism underlying the processes of transcription and gene regulation
fascinating. I am particularly interested in transcription initiation and how a gene that was
previously not expressed gets “turned on”. My research interests have focused on the regulation
of gene expression by alternate sigma factors in the soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Recently, I
have also become interested in the genetic determinants that govern behavior in another soil
organism, Paenibacillus. In my laboratory we use state-of-the-art methodology in molecular
genetics and cell biology, as well as classical techniques in microbial physiology. These
techniques allow us to study the environmental and structural signals that control expression of
individual genes involved in adaptation and particular behaviors in the bacterial cell. Our overall
goal is to elucidate the molecular networks that determine specific bacterial responses.