Paula
Watnick,
M.D., Ph.D.
Tufts University School of Medicine
Novel Regulators of Biofilm Development by Vibrio cholerae V. cholerae is a human pathogen and a natural inhabitant of marine, estuarine, and fresh
water environments. The research efforts in my laboratory are directed at preventing
cholera epidemics through an understanding of this bacterium’s survival strategies in the
aquatic environment and in the mammalian host. Surface adhesion or biofilm development is
a common strategy in both of these environments. Our laboratory studies V. cholerae
biofilms formed on artificial and environmental surfaces. Through genetic screens, we have
uncovered several novel regulators of V. cholerae biofilm development. By exploring the
mechanisms of action of these regulators, defining their regulons, and identifying the
environmental signals that they respond to, we hope to shed light on this universal bacterial
behavior and lay the foundation for the rational design of biofilm inhibitors to be used in
cholera prevention and control with the ultimate goal of improving world health.
