Microbiology

Microbiology professor Brenda Wilson stands in her office holding a copy of the book, Revenge of the Microbes

Antibiotics vs Microbes: Wilson’s New Book Investigates Our War Against Pathogens

In Revenge of the Microbes: How Bacterial Resistance is Undermining the Antibiotic Miracle, University of Illinois professor of microbiology Brenda Wilson and co-author Brian Ho provide timely and in-depth information and analysis of antibiotic resistance and the emergence of superbugs....
Stefanie Eben looks up at the camera with a smile. She is standing next to an anaerobic chamber.

Researchers shed new light on how copper poisons microbes

Copper is deployed by our immune system to fight off pathogens and is also used in health care settings to stave off bacterial infections, but how the element does so is unclear. Now, research published in Molecular Microbiology by microbiologists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign...
Joe and Gilberto stand together in the lab.

Wind-chill out! Researchers discover how flow stresses out bacterial pathogens

Researchers have discovered the addition of fluid to human pathogens triggers a "windchill-like" effect that sensitizes cells to hydrogen peroxide, a well-known agent of cell stress and DNA damage. Their findings have been published in PNAS.
Salmonella invade an immune cell

Researchers elucidate a fundamental physiological response required for Salmonella survival in the host

In a new paper published in mBio, researchers in the Department of Microbiology show that polyamines are critical for adaptation of salmonella to low magnesium conditions, including those found in the macrophage phagosome. Salmonella are major food-borne pathogens...
Microbiology professor Cari Vanderpool and PhD student Sabrina Abdulla

New role of small RNAs in Salmonella infections uncovered

Salmonella are food-borne pathogens that infect millions of people a year. To do so, these bacteria depend on a complex network of genes and gene products that allow them to sense environmental conditions. In a new paper, researchers have investigated the role of small RNAs that help Salmonella...
Alma Mater is all ready for the holidays with a winter scarf, ear muffs and holiday lights. Her garb is completed with a mask during this era of COVID-19.

School of MCB recognizes contributions of faculty, staff, grad students

The School of MCB is proud to recognize its stellar faculty and staff for their valuable contributions to the research and instructional missions of the school. At the 2022 Holiday Celebration, MCB director Milan Bagchi, Deborah Paul Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology, gave awards...
Ruben Sanchez-Nieves stands smiling in the foyer of Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.

Meet MCB: Ruben Sanchez-Nieves

PhD candidate Ruben Sanchez-Nieves from the Whitaker Lab looks to characterize and sequence plasmids such as Solfolobus Islandicus.
Rachel Whitaker in the Carl Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.

Context matters: Whitaker combines her passions for microbiology and education to better understand our world

Microbes, human beings, and the many systems we inhabit, from farms to factories and hospitals to high schools, are all connected. Working in natural environments, research labs, and local communities, Rachel Whitaker has been...
A tight shot of a microscope with a soft orange gradient layer.

School of MCB hiring faculty

The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is hiring faculty in several of our departments.
Chris Brooke, assistant professor of microbiology, recently spoke with The 21st public radio show about what scientists know about the virus that causes COVID-19, the emerging variants, and what they still have to learn.

Who should get an omicron COVID-19 booster?

Although the omicron variants seem less deadly, COVID-19 vaccine boosters are needed to keep up with the virus as it evolves, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign microbiology professor Christopher Brooke.