Clubb Lab
Principal Investigator: Robert Thompson Clubb
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
Primary Subfield: Immunology
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
Project Summary Gram-positive bacteria are surrounded by a thick peptidoglycan cell wall that is covalently affixed with a diverse array of macromolecules that maintain cell integrity and promote effective interactions with the environment. In clinically important bacterial pathogens, these macromolecules function as essential virulence factors. Our research will investigate how bacteria elaborate their surfaces with adhesive pili and cell wall glycopolymers that are critically important for microbial pathogenicity and growth. Both are attached to the same site on the cell surface and their relative abundance is balanced to maintain homeostasis. We will study the prototypical SpaA- pilus from Corynebacterium diphtheriae, the causative agent of the severe respiratory disease, diphtheria. The SpaA-pilus and related pili in >1,800 bacterial species are assembled by polymerases that covalently link pilus protein subunits (pilins) via lysine-isopeptide bonds that confer enormous tensile strength. By synergistically employing structural, biochemical, cellular, computational, and proteomic methods, we aim to learn how these polymerases select and crosslink their pilin substrates to build…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01AI052217-22: Cell Surface Polymer Display in Gram-Positive Bacteria (2026)
- 5R01AI161828-05: Molecular basis of heme scavenging by Gram-positive bacteria (2026)
- 5R01AI161828-04: Molecular basis of heme scavenging by Gram-positive bacteria (2025)
- 5R01AI052217-21: Cell Surface Polymer Display in Gram-Positive Bacteria (2025)
- 2R01AI052217-20A1: Cell Surface Polymer Display in Gram-Positive Bacteria (2024)
Explore 700+ US Biology Labs on FindBioLabs.com