Emeritus Professor
Contact Information, Courses, Grants, Publications, etc.
Former Research
For over 40 years, my career was been studying molecular pathogenesis, the use of genetic manipulation of microorganisms to understand the way that they cause disease. As a graduate student, I studied immune responses to Haemophilus influenzae type b with the goal of aiding vaccine development. As a postdoctoral fellow, I studied molecular pathogenesis of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, focusing on the virulence plasmid in mouse models. I brought this work with me to the University of Florida. I later transitioned into Vibrio vulnificus pathogenesis, working to determine how this “flesh eating” bacterium found in oysters and estuarine waters replicates so rapidly in human tissues causing life-threatening infection. I then moved to a beneficial bacterium, Oxalobacter formigenes, that helps prevent kidney stones by stimulating the excretion of oxalate into the intestines from the blood. My final research was drug discovery, attempting to develop new antibiotics that inhibit the beta-lactamase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa so as to enable beta-lactam antibiotics to be restored in their effectiveness. This work was done collaboratively with colleagues across the UF campus. I closed my lab in 2021.
Education
Post Doctoral Fellow, Washington University
Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
B.S., Texas A&M University
Former Teaching Responsibilities:
BMS 6300 Fundamentals of Microbiology and Immunology
BMS 6020 Clinical Neuroscience
BMS 6131 Hematology
BMS 6634 Gastroenterology and Hepatology
BMS 6635 Dermatology and the Musculoskeletal System
BMS 6642 Respiratory Systems
GMS 6038 Bacterial Genetics and Physiology
GMS 6108 Bacterial Physiology, Antibiotics, and Genetics
GMS 6121 Infectious Diseases
GMS 6132 Introductory Gene and Immunotherapy
GMS 6153 Advanced Bacterial Genetics
GMS 6169 Antimicrobial Strategies
GMS 7192 Journal Colloquy
Former Administration:
Chair, UF Institutional Biosafety Committee 2008-2024
Member, State Course Numbering System Committee 2014-2024