Damon Runyon Researchers

Dr. Levin [HHMI Fellow] studies how resident microorganisms can manipulate the development of their animal hosts. Through novel genetic approaches, she will explore the mechanisms used by the bacterium Legionella to dramatically disrupt the cell divisions of its host, amoeba. Because cancerous growth is often driven by the dysregulation of developmental signaling pathways, understanding the mechanistic impacts of resident microbes promises to illuminate both normal and cancer development.