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Randy Morgenstein, Ph.D.

Randy Morgenstein, Ph.D.

Oklahoma State University

Randy Morgenstein, Ph.D., is an associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at Oklahoma State University. The Morgenstein Lab uses a multidisciplinary approach, including quantitative microscopy and genetic techniques, to understand how the bacterial cytoskeleton regulates cell shape and physiology. 

Morgenstein earned a B.Sc. in microbial biology from the University of California Berkeley before moving to Emory University, where he earned a Ph.D. in microbiology and molecular genetics under the supervision of Dr. Phil Rather. He used genetic tools to understand how Proteus mirabilis senses surfaces to differentiate into a biochemically and physically distinct cell, termed a swarmed cell.

As a postdoc with Dr. Zemer Gitai at Princeton University, Morgenstein helped to develop multiple quantitative microscopy techniques to understand cell shape in both 2D and 3D. These studies helped to define a role for the morphogene, RodZ. As an associate professor at Oklahoma State University, Morgenstein continues to refine these techniques as his lab probes the connections between cell shape, division and metabolism.