Very honored to be part of this community. Thanks so much to @BhayaDevaki for all your support!.

Expression of A. baylyi FimT significantly boosts A. nosocomialis natural transformation and suggests that expression of a single gene may be sufficient to make less tractable organisms more genetically malleable.

Join millions who have switched to Grok.

We wondered why the species Acinetobacter baylyi is so highly naturally transformable, and we found that its DNA-binding minor pilin FimT contains multiple DNA-binding residues that additively contribute to increased DNA binding.

Excited to share my lab’s first preprint! We found that increasing DNA binding by type IV pili in an Acinetobacter pathogen can boost its natural transformation rates by ~100-fold, demonstrating that DNA binding is rate-limiting for natural transformation.

RT @m_strent: WANT A JOB: I have more than one postdoc position open. Let’s do some fun science in easy living Athens. Pay is above NIH gui….

My lab is hiring! We are looking for a full time lab tech for 1-2 years who is interested in getting more scientific research experience. Please reach out if you have any questions, and please forward to anyone you think may be interested!

I am very honored to be part of this amazing group of scientists and so grateful for this opportunity from @DamonRunyon.

RT @erindolan1: JOB! Come join us @universityofga Our Microbiology dept is seeking a tenure-track Ass Prof in bio ed research. For details….

RT @m_strent: WE ARE HIRING--postdoc positions available. Please retweet. Athens is a fun and easy place to live!

Excited to share my last postdoc paper with @zgitai1, @shaevitz, the Dalia lab, Ned Wingreen, and Chenyi Fei! We found Acinetobacter baylyi cells localize their type IV pili in a line to interact with each other and regulate biofilm structure formation:

The University of Georgia is hiring two assistant profs in Biochemistry and Microbiology as part of a cluster hire of 5 microbial-focused professors! We’re looking for good people doing cool science on broad topics, please reach out with any questions!

RT @katyq42: Why do MSHA pili not exhibit hyperpiliation upon deletion of the retraction motor? Because in this system, the retraction moto….

RT @MarioFeldman9: Hopefully next time will be in person but for now this will be a great opportunity to get the Acinetobacter community to….

RT @katyq42: My 1st first-author paper is officially published!.This story started with a cool observation under the microscope (cells deta….

RT @BrunLabCaulo: We are looking for a postdoc or research associate/technician to join a multidisciplinary team on an antibiotic discovery….

RT @BrunLabCaulo: Please RT: We are looking for a postdoc or research associate/technician to join a multidisciplinary team on an antibioti….

RT @GeiselBiofilm: I am looking to recruit 2 postdocs to study surface sensing (PMID:34168081), biofilm maintenance (PMID:33531388), or cdG….

Fun lockdown project with @gregbwhitfield and @BrunLabCaulo reviewing dynamics of type IV pili, very glad to see it out!

I will be accepting students next fall, so if you have undergraduates interested in bacterial cell biology please encourage them to apply to the Integrated Life Sciences graduate program at UGA!.

I’m excited to announce I will start a tenure-track position in the Dept. of Microbiology at the University of Georgia in fall 2022! I am so thankful for my supportive mentors who have helped me get here, and I’m eager to pay it forward.