Cornell Research Cornell.edu

Expertise

Bacterial stress responses; transcription; gene regulation; metal homeostasis; cell envelope; sigma factors; antibiotics; oxidative stress; Bacillus subtilis

Current Research Interest

Using Bacillus subtilis as a model system to characterize the bacterial stress responses elicited by metal ion limitation and excess, and by antibiotics that act on the cell envelope; using the resulting insights for understanding how bacterial cells adapt to their environment, including how bacteria adapt to hosts, which can restrict growth by limiting access to nutrient metal ions, the release of reactive oxygen species, and production of antimicrobial peptides

Distinction

American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow
American Academy of Microbiology Fellow

Selected Publications

Patel, Yesha, Heng Zhao, and John D. Helmann. “A Regulatory Pathway That Selectively Up-Regulates Elongasome Function in the Absence of Class A PBPs.” eLife 9 (2020): e57902.

Chandrangsu, Pete, Christopher Rensing, and John D. Helmann. “Metal Homeostasis and Resistance in Bacteria.” Nature Reviews Microbiology 15 (2017): 338–350.

Cornell Research Website Article

Learning the Steps in the Dance of Life