Research: My research focuses on increasing our understanding of the Type VII Secretion System (T7SSb). Many Gram-positive bacteria use the T7SSb to secrete anti-bacterial effectors, which have been shown to be important for virulence. I am studying this system in both Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus gordonii. The E. faecalis OG1RF T7SSb has been shown to encode two effectors within the T7SSb operon, but the potential function
of only one is known. I am working to determine the targets of the unknown effector
protein, as well as functions of other E. faecalis T7SSb effectors. For S. gordonii, almost nothing is known about the system. I am looking into any interbacterial competition
effects of this system within S. gordonii and the antibacterial toxins responsible.
