Aaron Whiteley, Ph.D.
University of Colorado Boulder
Aaron Whiteley, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder, studying host-pathogen interactions, bacteriology and nucleotide second messengers. Whiteley was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow during his Ph.D. with Dr. Daniel Portnoy at U.C. Berkeley and a Jane Coffin Childs Fellow during his postdoctoral training in the laboratories of Dr. John Mekalanos and Dr. Philip Kranzusch at Harvard Medical School.
Recent work in the Whiteley Lab explores how the bacterial immune system recognizes and responds to phage infection. Surprisingly, some components of the bacterial and human immune systems are highly related and share a common ancestor. Studying the bacterial immune response can teach us about both the basic biology of host-pathogen interactions and mechanisms of signaling in human cells. One current focus of our work is the cGAS-STING pathway, found in bacteria and humans. cGAS-STING signaling is important in humans for resistance to infectious disease and cancer. Therefore, understanding the ancestral pathway in bacteria will better inform therapeutics that target these proteins.
Recent work in the Whiteley Lab explores how the bacterial immune system recognizes and responds to phage infection. Surprisingly, some components of the bacterial and human immune systems are highly related and share a common ancestor. Studying the bacterial immune response can teach us about both the basic biology of host-pathogen interactions and mechanisms of signaling in human cells. One current focus of our work is the cGAS-STING pathway, found in bacteria and humans. cGAS-STING signaling is important in humans for resistance to infectious disease and cancer. Therefore, understanding the ancestral pathway in bacteria will better inform therapeutics that target these proteins.