Thesis Advisor
Entering Year
Research: Enterococcus faecalis is a major cause of catheter associated UTIs and presents an enormous healthcare burden. In the catheterized urinary tract, E. faecalis forms biofilms on the catheter surfacer and urothelium, conferring protection against antibiotics, displacement by mechanical force, and immune responses. I have identified two chemical cues present in human urine that induce aggregation of Enterococcus faecalis within biofilms and defined Endocarditis and Biofilm-Associated Pili (Ebp) as the driver of this phenotype. I am currently working to characterize Ebp binding in biofilm aggregates and determine the effect of biofilm aggregation on mechanisms of pathogenesis relevant to the urinary tract.
