Fang, Ferric

The Fang laboratory studies bacterial pathogenesis, in particular, the antimicrobial actions of phagocyte-derived reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and the strategies used by pathogenic microbes to resist these host defenses. Specific projects include the identification of novel nitric oxide targets in Salmonella enterica and Staphylococcus aureus, the role of iron metabolism in host-Salmonella interactions, the activation of Salmonella virulence gene expression by alternative sigma factors and other transcriptional regulators, and the mechanisms by which reactive nitrogen and oxygen species inhibit microbial replication.

Using a genomics-based approach, the Fang laboratory recently discovered "xenogeneic silencing," a mechanism by which bacteria can recognize and integrate foreign DNA into pre-existing regulatory networks.