Professor Linda Kenney elected to the American Academy of Microbiology Fellowship
SCI COMS | JANUARY 2018
The MBI proudly congratulates Prof Linda Kenney, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at the University Of Chicago, Illinois, and a Principal Investigator at the Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, for being elected to the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM).
Prof Linda J Kenney at the Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore.
The American Academy of Microbiology elects candidates in recognition of their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology.
The AAM, an honorific leadership group, is part of the American Society for Microbiology, which is the world’s largest life science organization. The primary mission of the AAM is to recognize exceptional research in microbiology, bring together leading microbiologists, other scientific experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials for providing expert scientific opinions on critical issues in microbiology, and to create public awareness about advances in microbiology and the potential benefits of these advances to human welfare.
Prof Kenney’s lab is interested in studying signaling pathways and the regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes. In particular, their research is focused at understanding how the EnvZ/OmpR two-component system controls the expression of a number of pathogenesis-related genes in bacteria.
Learn more about the Kenney lab.
Of note is recent work from Kenney lab that led to the identification of Salmonella protein, SsrB, as a molecular switch that enables the bacterium to choose between virulent vs dormant lifestyles inside its host. Prof Kenney and Dr Stuti Desai, Senior Research Fellow at the Kenney lab describe their findings in this video:
Pioneering research in bacterial mechanotransduction, Prof Kenney has successfully led her team towards making significant discoveries related to bacterial pathogenesis that could pave way for advanced therapeutic interventions. Her election to AAM’s fellowship is a felicitous honor to her outstanding contributions and leadership in the field of microbiological sciences.
The Linda J Kenney Lab
The Kenney Lab is interested in signal transduction and the regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes. In particular, they study the two-component regulatory system EnvZ/OmpR that regulates the expression of outer membrane proteins as well as many other genes. Currently they are focusing on how OmpR activates genes required for systemic infection in Salmonella enterica.
Appreciation evening for MBI’s Founding Director
On Friday 28 June 2019, MBI held an appreciation dinner for Prof. Michael Sheetz to mark his time as Director of MBI. Prof. Sheetz has been MBI Director since its inception, having been recruited by Prof. Hew Choy Leong to lead a new RCE in Mechanobiology in 2008.
MBI Director honoured with ASCB Senior Leadership Award
MBI Director Prof. Li Rong has been awarded the 2019 Sandra K. Masur Senior Leadership Award from the American Society of Cell Biology (ASCB). This award recognizes cell biology researchers whose “outstanding scientific achievements are coupled with a record of active leadership in mentoring both men and women in scientific careers.”
