Tuesday, November 28, 2023, 3:30 PM, BPB 130
Dr. Shaun Brinsmade, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Georgetown University
Host: Michel Giovani Santiago-Martinez
Integrating metabolism and virulence in Staphylococcus aureus
Summary: Metabolism fuels infection, and virulence can be thought of as a mechanism to maintain homeostasis. In my talk, I’ll discuss our current work to understand the linkages between bacterial physiology and the production of virulence factors in the model Gram-positive human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus.
About Dr. Brinsmade: Dr. Shaun Brinsmade earned his Bachelors of Science in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Connecticut. He was inspired in Dr. Teschke’s Biochemistry course to seek out undergraduate research in Dr. Judy Kelly’s lab. There he worked in the lab to help understand the structure, function, and catalytic mechanism of the D-ala-D-alacarboxypeptidase-transpeptidase. He then moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned his PhD with Dr. Jorge Escalante-Semerena in the Dept. of Bacteriology to study bacterial physiology and Acetyl-CoA (Ac-CoA)homeostasis in the Gram-negative pathogen Salmonella enterica. Following his PhD studies, Dr. Brinsmade completed several years of postdoctoral work in the Dept. of Molecular Biology and Microbiology at Tufts Medical with Abraham “Linc” Sonenshein studying regulation of metabolism and virulence genes in Gram-positive bacteria. After training with Linc Sonenshein and a brief training at the ETH-Zürich with systems biologist Uwe Sauer, Dr. Brinsmade opened his own lab in August 2013. Thus, research in the Brinsmade Lab blends multiple fields and work from the last22 years and focuses on the physiological origins and molecular underpinnings of virulence in S. aureus. Dr.Brinsmade attributes his love (and passion!) for biochemistry, genetics, and microbiology in part to the UConn MCB faculty, including Drs Kelly, Knox, Teschke, Kendall, and Leadbetter.
Link to publications:
1.) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36135382/ (relevant for my seminar)
2.) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27116338/ (relevant for my seminar)
3.) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12564922/ (where it all began…at UConn MCB)
James R. Cole, Ph.D., Professor of Structural Biology and Biophysics, retired in June 2023 after a 23-year career here in the MCB Department. Dr. Cole received his bachelor’s degree from Brown University before obtaining a PhD in Chemistry at the University of California at Berkley and carried out his postdoctoral work in Chemistry at Stanford University. He then headed to the pharmaceutical sector where he spent ten years at Merck Research Labs, West Point, PA. in the Biochemistry and Antiviral Research Departments before joining our faculty in 2001.
He received his doctorate in biochemistry at Rutgers University in 1957 followed by postdoctoral work at the Enzyme Institute at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1961 he moved to the University of Pennsylvania, Pittsburg, as an Assistant Professor, doing research on diabetes. In 1964 he accepted a position at UConn in the Biochemistry and Biophysics Section of the Biological Sciences Group, the common ancestor of the MCB, PNB, and EEB departments. His research dealt with the hormonal regulation of metabolism in mitochondria, biosynthesis and control of mitochondrial membrane synthesis, and the reconstitution of mitochondrial anion transporters. He also taught biochemistry and other biology courses. He retired as Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology in 1997.