John Helmann lab

The Helmann lab investigates adaptation to stress using Bacillus subtilis as a model organism. One project focuses on the roles of alternative sigma factors and other regulators in controlling cell envelope stress responses. These studies support our ongoing work on the molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. A second major research effort is directed at metal ion homeostasis. Metal regulation plays an important role in host-pathogen interactions, where sequestration of essential metal ions is a critical part of the innate immune response. We can currently recruiting undergraduate to help with investigating how cells adapt to both metal ion limitation and excess and working to identify the specific physiological processes that fail under these conditions.