Postdoc Profile: Morgan Milton
Morgan E. MiltonMentor
Dr. John Cavanagh
Education
Biology, B.S., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010
Biology, M.S., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011
Biochemistry, Ph.D., Iowa State University, 2016
Research Summary
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest public health threats. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that, in the United States alone, 2 million people are infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria each year. These infections result in at least 23,000 deaths, a number that will only go up as time goes on as more bacteria develop resistance. My work focuses on addressing this serious need to combat antibiotic resistance. I do this by studying a class of bacterial proteins called response regulators. Response regulators control bacterial virulence traits and biofilm formation, key traits that allow bacteria to resist drug treatments. Biofilms are particularly important since cells in a biofilm can be up to 1,000-fold more resistant to antibiotics and the host immune response than while in a free-swimming, planktonic state. I use a range of structural and biochemical techniques including X-ray crystallography to better understand these proteins and how they function within the bacterial cell. I also work on testing small molecule drugs for their ability to bind to response regulators, inhibit biofilm formation, and resensitize resistant bacteria to antibiotics.