Research Overview
The Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (MMG) graduate program provides training in the study of microorganisms as well as in the use of microbial models to investigate basic problems in molecular genetics, microbial physiology, and microbial pathogenesis. The program is designed not only for students interested in academic careers in teaching and research but also for those interested in careers in related aspects of medicine industry and the government. Research training is offered in the biology and molecular biology of viruses and bacteria: bacterial genetics and physiology, microbiomes, mechanisms of bacterial and viral pathogenesis, molecular biology of gene regulation, antibiotic resistance, and antiviral and vaccine development. The program is bolstered by well-funded faculty with outstanding training records, backed by the specialized infrastructure and expertise required for advanced research. These investigators and laboratory leads are drawn from the School of Medicine, Rollins School of Public Health, and the basic science departments of Emory College.
The faculty and training of the MMG program focus on three principal areas of research:
This figure highlights the molecular pathogenesis of Agrobacterium tumefaciens molecular biology as it causes disease in susceptible plants.
(Courtesy of MMG faculty member Dr. David Lynn)
MMG faculty with interests in bacteriology conduct basic research that addresses important, contemporary problems in the areas of microbial physiology (including sporulation, biofilm formation, mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and production, and cellular communication systems), microbial genetics (mechanisms of control of gene expression, transposition, and recombination), bacterial virulence factors. Specific species under investigation include enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia complex, Helicobacter pylori, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Neisseria meningitidis, Clostridioides difficile, Lactobacillus reuteri, Group A and Group B Streptococcus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
This figure shows the molecular structure of Influenza Hemagglutinin (HA), specifically highlighting the receptor-binding site (RBS) where the virus attaches to host cells.
(Courtesy of MMG faculty member Dr. David Steinhauer)
MMG faculty focusing on virology strive to resolve critical, contemporary problems in mechanisms of antiviral resistance, models and molecular determinants of transmission, persistence, latency, replication, reassortment, roles of viruses in oncology, the biology of viral assembly and cellular trafficking, mechanisms of pathogenesis and immune evasion, and development of antiviral drugs and vaccines. A variety of modern genetic, biochemical, computational, and structural approaches are used in conjunction with infection models in pursuit of these questions. Viruses important for human disease that are investigated include HIV/AIDS, HBV, RSV, LCMV, rhinovirus, norovirus, influenza, SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 and other coronaviruses, Zika, West Nile, YFV, and other orthoflaviviruses, and other emerging viruses such as Nipah, Ebola, mpox, and chikungunya.
Noteworthy training opportunities in virology exist through research projects directed and facilitated by MMG faculty members in the Emory CEIRR Center (led by Dr. Anice Lowen) and the Emory Vaccine Center (led by Dr. Rafi Ahmed).
