Stanford Departments and Centers:
Biology
Person Title:
Professor
The Jacobs-Wagner lab has two main research interests:
- They examine the general principles and spatiotemporal mechanisms by which bacterial cells replicate. Bacteria are infamous for their remarkable ability to proliferate. Yet, despite their medical and agricultural importance, little is known about how bacteria control and integrate their growth, cell morphogenesis and cell cycle functions. The Jacobs-Wagner lab addresses this fundamental question at all levels, from a systems-level perspective down to the physical mechanisms, using genetics and cutting-edge quantitative microscopy techniques. The primary model bacterial systems are Escherichia coli and Caulobacter crescentus. Microbiologists, physicists and individuals with expertise in quantitative biology are encouraged to contact us.
- Recently, the Jacobs-Wagner lab expanded their interests to the Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi, revealing unsuspected ways by which this pathogen grows and causes disease. Lyme disease is tick-born disease whose incidence and geographic distribution have rapidly increased over the years, in part due to climate change. The Jacobs-Wagner lab has developed genetic and cell biological tools as well as mass spectrometry and microscopy protocols to study this important human pathogen, from its unique cell biology to its pathogenesis. Individuals with expertise in microbial pathogenesis or immunology are encouraged to contact us.
Department URL:
https://biology.stanford.edu/
