Meet MCB: Professor Jongsook Kim Kemper

Jongsook Kim Kemper
Dr. Kemper is Professor Emeritus of Molecular & Integrative Physiology. Her lab focuses on metabolic signaling and epigenomic control of metabolism and energy balance.

Researchers find new control mechanism for sugar metabolism in gut microbes

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...

Investigating the role of Brd4 in diet-induced obesity

Headshot of Lin-Feng Chen
A new study, published in JCI insight, looks at how Brd4, a regulator of the innate immune response, influences diet-induced obesity. The researchers believe that Brd4 could be used as a target for obesity and insulin resistance.

Researchers study how biotin affects mycobacteria growth

John Cronan
Alumni Professor of MicrobiologyJohn E. Cronan at the University of Illinois recently published work on the biotin synthesis pathway and its role in mycobacterium and tuberculosis. Cronan’s lab primarily works on lipid metabolism and fatty acid synthesis. In his recent publication, Cronan takes a...

New study explores complex phage-host interactions in human gut

Chart depicting phage-bacteria-mammal relationships.
Danielle Campbell, a microbiology PhD graduate of the Whitaker Lab, recently studied the interaction of the active prophage, Bacteroides phage BV01, in its tractable host strain, B. vulgatus ATCC 8482. Bacteroides, known to degrade complex carbohydrates and interact with host immune cells, are one...