Join us for MLS Seminar featuring Dr. Felix Barber, Assistant Professor of Microbiology at The Ohio State University!
Dr. Barber's lab studies bacterial growth and shape, using the tools of modern microscopy, computation, molecular biology and mathematics to tackle fundamental questions in bacterial biology with relevance for human health.
The bacterial cell wall is an essential polymeric exoskeleton that prevents bacterial lysis and is targeted by their best frontline antibiotics. Dr. Barber's lab's recent work revealed the fundamental role of wall teichoic acids, an understudied cell wall constituent of Gram-positive bacteria, in regulating both the synthesis and degradation of the primary load-bearing cell wall component: peptidoglycan. They are now leveraging these discoveries to explore the mechanistic basis of cell wall homeostasis, both with and without wall teichoic acids.