Brielle McKee

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a nasty bacterial pathogen that causes a variety of human diseases, and is very difficult to treat due to high antibiotic resistance. P. aeruginosa pathogenesis and antibiotic resistance are activated by a population density-dependent cell-cell signaling system called quorum sensing. Quorum sensing has been the subject of intense study as a target for development of novel therapeutics. P. aeruginosa frequently undergoes genetic mutation during patient infections due to adaptation to the host and strong selection by antibiotics. Our lab has discovered that some of these genetic mutations can cause unexpected changes in the quorum sensing regulatory circuits. My project is focused on understanding how these mutations alter quorum sensing regulatory circuits and focuses in particular on effects on antibiotic resistance. The results will broaden our basic understanding of quorum sensing and provide essential information to further the development of novel anti-quorum sensing therapeutics.