The Mougous Lab

Defining the mechanisms and significance of interbacterial interactions in medical and environmental settings

Our Research

Antibacterial

Toxins

These are fascinating proteins that disable target cells through diverse mechanisms, providing insight into vulnerabilities of bacteria.

Epibiotic

Bacteria

These remarkable, understudied, miniscule bacteria grow on the surface of host bacteria.

Gut Bacteria Interactions

Antagonism and defense are critical for the survival of bacteria in the densely colonized mammalian GI tract.

Secreted Virulence Factors

Bacteria employ toxins delivered by specialized secretions systems to overcome host defense strategies.

 

News

November 25, 2024 - Zhihang 'Eric' Tao joins as a new Postdoctoral Scholar

Eric comes to us from the Fang Lab at Sahnghai Jiao Tong University, where he worked on various questions pertaining to colorectal cancer and the gut microbiome. We are excited to bring on Eric as the newest addition of our research team!

September 26, 2024 - Pooja recieves Washington Research Foundation Fellowship

We are excited to announce that postdoctoral fellow Dr. Pooja Srinivas has been awarded the prestigious Washington Research Foundation Fellowship. Congratulations, Pooja!

August 15, 2024 – Ainsley Brockman completes summer research

Ainsley joined us for the summer through the UW-Gonzaga Summer Research Program. She finished off a productive summer of research at the program's closing ceremony.

August 9, 2024 – David gives talk at Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phages Meeting

PhD candidate David shared his research on a conserved strategy of defense against interbacterial antagonism.

April 4, 2024 – Billy receives NSF GRFP award

Our second-year PhD student Billy Ngo has been selected for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. This award provides three years of funding towards Billy’s PhD. Congratulations Billy!

December 1, 2023 - Kevin successfully defends his PhD thesis

Kevin Cutler defended his thesis with a unique blend of physics and microbiology. Titled "Leveraging Machine Learning for Image Cytometry," his talk highlighted the major advancements he has made in the world of image segmentation with Omnipose. Congrats to Dr. Cutler!

November 13, 2023 - Congrats to David for successfully passing the candidacy exam

We are thrilled to announce that our MCB PhD student candidate David Brinkley has aced his qualifying exam. Well done, David!

August 18, 2023 - Farewell to our BioSTEP Summer Scholar, Marieke Trabant

Marieke had a productive summer working with Pooja on developing new peptide therapeutics, but, as summer comes to an end, we must bid her adieu. She will return to Western Washington University to finish her undergraduate degree.

June 17, 2023 - Billy Ngo and Otto Chipashvili join the lab as new graduate students

We are excited to bring on a double-dose of talent with two new graduate students from the Department of Microbiology at UW. They bring distinct expertise to the lab – Otto with a history of oral microbiome research from the Forsyth Institute, and Billy who previously studied host-microbe interactions in colon and liver diseases at UNC Chapel Hill.

June 13, 2023 - New center launched for the study of microbiomes and microbial interactions

Joseph and Kyle will be directing the new Microbial Interactions & Microbiome Center (mim_c), with the goal of advancing microbiome sciences at the University of Washington and neighboring institutions.

Questions? Contact Us.

Mougous Lab/Room F510 UW Medicine at SLU 750 Republican St. Seattle, WA 98109

(206) 685-6740