Our review on disulfide formation is out! Since the discovery the DSB system ~35 years ago, we have made great steps in understanding its role in processes like virulence and #AMR. In loving memory of my supervisor Stuart Ferguson. @nikikaderabkova
Link: https://t.co/evkLJM0EuN
Surface display library day at @UCF We are excited to clone our peptide library into colistin resistant Kleb @KlebClub 😊 Pictured here is Christina DeBarro and Gaby Echeverria getting ready to collect colonies!
So excited to be in Vienna for #ESCMID2025 where I will be giving a talk on how our peptides can disrupt K. pneumoniae biofilms.
If you are around this Tuesday come check it out!!!
Our study appearing in @NatureComms showing the importance of the T6SS of Klebsiella pneumoniae in gut colonization. We combined tn-seq with metagenomics and identified new microbiota targets and T6SS regulators.
https://t.co/EmSdhvG7f1
I'm excited to announce our latest publication! We teamed up with @KHullahalli to barcode Klebsiella and ask basic questions about bacteremia pathogenesis: 1) how are bacteria shared between sites and 2) which host and bacterial factors influence dynamics?
https://t.co/Ajdjyu0QUX
It’s that time again! If you are interested in Klebsiella pneumoniae this is the seminar series to attend! So excited to see what this year will bring!!
It's that time of year! Registration and abstract submission for the 6th Klebsiella Seminar Series is now open. Participation is free and abstracts are due by February 16th. See the link below for details:
https://t.co/vOKIxqXJas
#KlebClub
Check out our latest publication aligning the MRSN panel biofilm and mucoid phenotypes to the genotypes in @Nature_NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes!
Special thanks to my collaborators on this work @EpiDemiLogos and @OlayaRendueles !!
https://t.co/p3dDVfDauK
Interested in a meaningful postdoc evaluating vaccine efficacy in a variety of murine models? Consider applying to join us @WUSTL @WashUMedPedsID@KlebClub
https://t.co/rvVESXx8LX
Antibiotic discovery is notoriously hard and slow. What if we could change that by optimizing antibiotics on the computer?
Introducing APEXgo, our latest AI model, which integrates a transformer-based variational autoencoder with Bayesian optimization to design novel antibiotics.
Unlike traditional AI approaches, which rely on fixed databases of known molecules, APEXgo explores uncharted sequence space, proposing entirely novel peptides that have not been seen before.
We put APEXgo to the test with a bold challenge: could it design optimized compounds with antibiotic activity using templates from extinct organisms like woolly mammoths and giant sloths? 🐘🦣
The results? 🤯
· 100 peptides were synthesized and characterized for antimicrobial activity, mechanism of action, secondary structure, and cytotoxicity.
· APEXgo achieved an 85% experimental hit rate.
· 72% success in improving activity against dangerous Gram-negative pathogens —a major challenge.
· The antibiotics designed by APEXgo were effective in mouse models, even outperforming polymyxin B (a last-resort antibiotic).
This work represents the first ground-truth experimental validation of generative Bayesian optimization in any setting, and we are excited that its debut application is in antibiotic discovery.
With APEXgo, we have entered an era where AI accelerates antibiotic discovery and explores molecular diversity at digital speed. #AI #Antibiotics
Huge congratulations to my amazing Team and collaborators on this achievement: @mdt_torres, Yimeng Zeng, Fangping Wan, Natalie Maus, and Jake Gardner @Penn@PennMedicine@PennEngineers
Link to the paper: https://t.co/tvFbquK7IE
Our latest publication is out! https://t.co/rSa2GEz402 Lots of hard work from @AlexaGannon here, and the best bit is we get to celebrate at her PhD graduation this Friday 🥳 If you like Pseudomonas and aggregate biofilms take a look! #pseudomonas#aggregates#CF#proudPI
🚨We have a "Scientist" position in my lab at @StJude
👉This position is stable and not dependent on external funding.
🗒️Ideally, the candidate holds a PhD in Microbiology or related and +3 years exp. post PhD. See details in ad.
Please kindly retweet!
https://t.co/RaEXV3MVmg
Not long ago, discovering antibiotics meant painstakingly purifying compounds from sources like soil—a process longer than earning a PhD, often with limited success.
Years ago, we envisioned that by treating biology as an information source and mining it with advanced algorithms, we could revolutionize antibiotic discovery.
In my @PLOSBiology article, I summarize our progress over the past 5+ years. Today, my lab can discover hundreds of thousands of new antibiotic molecules in just a few hours—on a computer.