My research focuses on the mechanisms of bacterial pathogen adaptation to the infection environment in humans and antibiotic treatments. We are currently examining polymicrobial biofilm infections in humans by analyzing the transcriptomes of infecting bacteria at both the bulk and single-cell levels.
Understanding bacterial physiology during infection requires extensive molecular biology tools. My research group pushes boundaries by developing novel methods to reach full bacterial transcriptomes during infection, resolve heterogeneity in infecting populations, and reveal bacterial gene functions. In parallel, to generate in vivo-like conditions we are investigating infection conditions by testing thousands of variables through deep phenotyping and single-cell RNA sequencing, utilizing semi-permeable capsule technology. This approach aims to assess the significance of gene products important for infection maintenance and antibiotic resistance, potentially leading to the identification of novel candidates for new antimicrobials.
My lab has also introduced semi-permeable capsule technology for various applications, ranging from PCR-qPCR to bacterial growth, and are generating in vivo-like microenvironments at the single-cell level. This technology is available at µNiSCH (µNordic Single Cell Hub) that I am heading at Umeå University, Department of Molecular Biology.
My lab is also affiliated with IceLab ‘Center for modeling adaptive mechanisms in living systems under stress’.
Group Members:
Sena Gizem Suer
Oytun Sarigöz
Tugrul Doruk
Joram Kiriga Waititu