Listeria Biofilms

My research focuses on the ecology of bacteria living on surfaces, in biofilms, that directly impact the health of children.  My work ranges from determining the community composition of complex multi-species biofilms associated with the human upper respiratory tract to elucidating the molecular mechanisms of biofilm formation by the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes.  L. monocytogenes persisting on food preparation surfaces in the form of biofilms appears to be the source of contamination responsible for several recent U.S. listeriosis outbreaks. Of particular relevance to both medicine and the food industry, biofilm bacteria are more resistant to detergents, biocides, and antibiotics than are individual, free-living bacteria making decontamination of biofilm-coated surfaces particularly difficult.  I am currently taking a genetic approach to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of biofilm formation by L. monocytogenes.