Kim Orth, PhD – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Professor, Department of Molecular Biology | Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

“Black Spot, Black Death, Black Pearl: Tales of Bacterial Pathogens”

Friday at 7:15 PM – Fayetteville Town Center

The Orth lab is interested in deciphering molecular mechanisms used for signaling by the host and pathogen. We are interested in elucidating the activity of virulence factors from pathogenic bacteria so that we can gain novel molecular insight into eukaryotic signaling systems. In the past, we have discovered mechanisms such as Ser/Thr acetylation, AMPylation, irreversible actin assembly, bacterial phosphoinositide-binding domain mimics, and pore-forming V-ATPase inhibitors. The marine bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the worldwide leading cause of seafood-borne acute gastroenteritis. For decades, this pathogen has been studied exclusively as an extracellular bacterium. However, recent studies from our lab have revealed the pathogen’s ability to invade and replicate within host cells. We find novel mechanisms used by the pathogen to manipulate and exploit host signaling mechanisms so this bacterium can survive, proliferate, and escape. Our work at UT Southwestern is accomplished using a broad range of tools, including biochemistry, molecular microbiology, protein chemistry, structural biology, yeast genetics, cell biology and more.