University of Illinois students explore interdisciplinary approaches to Microbial Systems through MicroERA

University of Illinois students and postdocs are connecting across disciplines to explore research, networking, career and professional development opportunities related to microbial systems. The Microbial Early-career Researchers Association (MicroERA) was established in 2019 by graduate students...

E. coli induces repair enzymes to protect itself from low-grade hydrogen peroxide stress

Building upon decades of research, scientists at the University of Illinois have determined Escherichia coli (E. coli) induces DNA repair enzymes to protect itself from low-grade hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) stress. Their collective findings, published recently in Molecular Microbiology, suggest the...

Meet MCB: Microbiology PhD student Stefanie Eben

From studying E. coli to riding horses, Stefanie Eben says she has found the perfect mixture of academic and personal fulfillment at the University of Illinois.

Twelve faculty, including MCB professor, selected for the 2022 NIH Grant Writing Series mentorship program

The Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI) is offering the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant Writing Series virtually during the 2022 spring semester. The NIH Grant Writing Series prepares faculty to submit their first R01 or other individual investigator proposals to the NIH....

Latest Jump ARCHES Awards Focus on Medical Tech Solutions to Meet Vexing Health Care Challenges

Twenty research projects are sharing slightly more than $1.4 million in funding through the Jump ARCHES research and development program to address a variety of vexing medical challenges including neurological testing for children and athletes (such as concussions), migraines, and stress among...

CCIL’s Cancer and Microbes Working Group explores new collaborations

The Cancer Center at Illinois and the Microbial Systems Initiative held the Cancer and Microbes Workshop as part of a new partnership formed between the CCIL and the MSI to promote collaboration at the interface of microbial sciences and cancer research.

Study reveals how bacterial pathogen adapts to nutritional stress

In order to cause disease, the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus must adapt to the changing host environment. Many of these adaptations are mediated through two-component signal transduction systems (TCSs) that coordinate gene expression in response to environmental stimuli. In a new study...

In memoriam: Professor Eric Jakobsson a ‘Renaissance man’ who cared about community

Longtime Urbana resident Eric Jakobsson is being remembered as a devoted husband and father, a brilliant scientist and mentor, a political bridge-builder and all-around nice guy.

Scientists discover how antibiotics penetrate Gram-negative bacterial cell walls

In a study reported in the journal Chemical Science, researchers developed a new method to determine how antibiotics with specific chemical properties thread their way through tiny pores in the otherwise impenetrable cell envelopes of Gram-negative bacteria.

New "Cryo-EM" technology illuminates life

Thanks to the installation of a cryogenic electron microscope at the University of Illinois, researchers are exploring what was once hidden or difficult to study at the molecular level.