Deciphering and Controlling the Signaling Processes in Bacterial Multicellular Systems and Bacteria-Host Interactions

4/20/2012

An interdisciplinary team from Syracuse University is conducting research on how to decipher and control the signaling processes in bacterial multicellular systems and bacteria-host interactions. By employing a multidisciplinary approach, the team will perform experiments in the areas of material design, functional genomics, bioinformatics, molecular simulation and nanotechnology.  

The team hopes to better understand and manipulate the signaling processes, and ultimately eliminate persister cells and biofilms-the means by which bacteria form tolerance to antibiotics and disinfectants.Bacterial tolerance causes numerous problems of infections and biofouling.  

In November the team was awarded a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation. EFRI funds interdisciplinary initiatives at the emerging frontier of engineering research and education, seeking projects that are transformative and that address a national need or grand challenge.

The team includes principal investigator Dacheng Ren, an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering (BMCE) in Syracuse University's L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science (LCS) and member of the Syracuse Biomaterial's Institute (SBI) along with professors  Rebecca Bader (BMCE and SBI),  Yan-Yeung Luk (Chemistry & SBI), R. "Suresh" Sureshkumar (BMCE) and Ramesh Raina (Biology).