Microbiology

Scientists discover how antibiotics penetrate Gram-negative bacterial cell walls

2021-11-09

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

2021-11-02

Researcher pours ice to prepare specimens for cryo-EM.

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.

Researchers find new control mechanism for sugar metabolism in gut microbes

2021-08-31

Amanda Adams works in lab at anaerobic hood.

In a new University of Illinois study, researchers found that genes encoding a previously unstudied family of RBPs are highly expressed in many Bacteroides species. They also demonstrated that mutants of the prevalent human gut bacteria Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron that lacked RBPs exhibited...

U of I president honors MCB researchers for their work on COVID-19 response

2021-08-24

University of Illinois President Tim Killeen on Monday honored 28 key leaders of the system’s COVID-19 response with the Presidential Medallion. The medallion is the highest honor that the system president can bestow.

PhD graduate wins Sternberg Thesis Prize for microbiology research

2021-07-09

Congratulations to Maryam Khademian, a recent Illinois PhD graduate in microbiology, whose thesis was chosen for the Sternberg Thesis Prize. The award will be presented to Khademian at the 2021 Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phages Conference.

Alumna and pioneering scientist Carrol Foxall establishes fellowship for undergraduates pursuing summer research

2021-07-06

Carrol Foxall (BS, '54, bacteriology) in Spring 2021

Carrol Foxall and her husband, fellow Illinois graduate Robert Foxall, recently established a new Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship to support students in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology on their journeys to becoming well-rounded scholars.

Susan Brennan (BS, ’85, microbiology) has built a career in sustainability, solving problems

2021-07-06

MCB alumna Susan Brennan reflects on her time at the University of Illinois and her career. She also shares advice for girls and women who hope to pursue careers in STEM.

Frequent COVID-19 testing key to efficient, early detection, study finds

2021-06-30

Student spits into funnel tube for saliva sample collection.

The chance of detecting the virus that causes COVID-19 increases with more frequent testing, no matter the type of test, a new study found. Both polymerase chain reaction and antigen tests, paired with rapid results reporting, can achieve 98% sensitivity if deployed at least every three days.

Synergistic Toxicity of Nitric Oxide and Hydrogen Peroxide Triggers Catastrophic Chromosomal Fragmentation

2021-06-24

Green Florescent Protein (GFP) being expressed in a strain of E.coli in L.B. agar medium .The plate in the center is the control that is not expressing any GFP.

Professor Andrei Kuzminov and PhD student Pooja Agashe from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently explored hydrogen peroxide’s synergistic effects with nitric oxide (NO).

Effort to curb COVID-19 leads to a deeper understanding of communities and the disease

2021-06-22

Medical staff use a swab to collect nasal samples from a patient for a PCR COVID-19 test.

Several faculty from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, including microbiology professor Rachel Whitaker, are collaborating to help and learn from a town struck by the pandemic.

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