Linda J KENNEY
Alumni, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore
EASMB Symposium 2025 Showcases Global Participation and Relevance
The East Asian Single-Molecule Biophysics Symposium 2025 (EASMB2025) held from 24 to 26 November at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium in the Education Resource Centre, UTown, National University of Singapore showcased global participation and relevance.
Ng Inn Chuan
Research Associate, Yu Group
Byun Young Seo Christina
Research Assistant, Tee Group
Super proud of Arikta Biswas, whose work on theca cell mechanics and compressive stress is now published in Nature Communications!
A huge thanks to our collaborators and reviewers for offering their invaluable feedback as well! Read the article here.
Linda J Kenney
Alumni
Research Areas
Signal transduction in bacteria; Bacterial Pathogenesis; Mechanotransduction and osmotic signaling in E. coli; Mechanisms of anti-silencing of virulence genes in Salmonella
Research Interests
Our laboratory is interested in signal transduction and the regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes. In particular, we are studying the two-component regulatory system EnvZ/OmpR that regulates the expression of outer membrane proteins as well as many other genes. Our present work focuses on how OmpR activates genes required for systemic infection (located on Salmonella pathogenicity island 2) in Salmonella enterica.
The Kenney Lab’s research was recently featured in an article exploring the bacterial molecular switch between virulence or dormancy, Salmonella Lifestyle Choices. Members of her lab have discovered that the bacterial protein SsrB is the molecular switch for determining whether Salmonella infections become acute and virulent, or remain in a dormant carrier state.
The study is published in eLife (Desai et al., The horizontally-acquired response regulator SsrB drives a Salmonella lifestyle switch by relieving biofilm silencing, February 2, 2016, eLife 2016; 5: e10747, doi: 10.7554/eLife.10747). Read full article.
Biography
Dr Kenney is a Professor of Microbiology at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Her laboratory studies two-component systems in bacteria that control gene expression at a single cell and nanometer level.
Professor Linda J Kenney and Professor Michael Sheetz interviewed by the Washington Post at the April 2017 March for Science.
Education
PhD University of Pennsylvania
Recent Publications
- Fernandez M, Yamanaka Y, Zangoui P, White MA, and Kenney LJ. The sulfur assimilation pathway mitigates redox stress from acidic pH in Salmonella Typhi H58. mBio 2025;:e0046725. [PMID: 40422406]
- Shetty D, and Kenney LJ. A pH-sensitive switch activates virulence in Salmonella. Elife 2023; 12. [PMID: 37706506]
- Oh D, Liu X, Sheetz MP, and Kenney LJ. Small, Dynamic Clusters of Tir-Intimin Seed Actin Polymerization. Small 2023;:e2302580. [PMID: 37649226]
- Mon KKZ, Si Z, Chan-Park MB, and Kenney LJ. Polyimidazolium Protects against an Invasive Clinical Isolate of Salmonella Typhimurium. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2022;:e0059722. [PMID: 36094258]
- Jacob H, Geng H, Shetty D, Halow N, Kenney LJ, and Nakano MM. Distinct Interaction Mechanism of RNAP and ResD and Distal Subsites for Transcription Activation of Nitrite Reductase in Bacillus subtilisψ. J Bacteriol 2021;:JB0043221. [PMID: 34898263]
- Singh MK, Zangoui P, Yamanaka Y, and Kenney LJ. Genetic code expansion enables visualization of Salmonella type three secretion system components and secreted effectors. Elife 2021; 10. [PMID: 34061032]
- Kenney LJ, and Anand GS. EnvZ/OmpR Two-Component Signaling: An Archetype System That Can Function Noncanonically. EcoSal Plus 2020; 9(1). [PMID: 32003321]
- Desai SK, and Kenney LJ. Switching Lifestyles Is an in vivo Adaptive Strategy of Bacterial Pathogens. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019; 9:421. [PMID: 31921700]
- Desai SK, Padmanabhan A, Harshe S, Zaidel-Bar R, and Kenney LJ. Salmonella biofilms program innate immunity for persistence in Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2019;. [PMID: 31160462]
- Ottemann KM, and Kenney LJ. Editorial overview: Host-pathogen interactions: bacteria. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 2019; 47:iii-v. [PMID: 31138403]
Lab Members
Prof Lim Chwee Teck elected Fellow of the Royal Society
MBI Principal Investigator Professor Lim Chwee Teck, Director of the Institute for Health Innovation & Technology at the National University of Singapore (NUS iHealthtech) and NUSS Professor, has been elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Society
The first research article from the Chan Lab is up on bioRxiv now
Congratulations to Arikta for driving this project!
Congrats to Kim Whye, Boon Heng and Kosei for their accomplishments at the SCBS Annual Conference 2024!
Congratulations to Kim Whye and Boon Heng (below) for presenting their latest research on ovarian follicle development and to Kosei for being awarded the 'Best Poster Prize' at the SCBS Annual Conference 2024.
Seeking Research Assistant in Assoc. Prof. Low Boon Chuan’s Lab at MBI, NUS
We seek to recruit a Research Assistant in Assoc Prof. Low Boon Chuan's Lab at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS.
Joe shares latest work on ovarian mechanobiology at the ACRLE Conference 2024
Joe presents the lab's latest work on murine ovary elasticity at the ACRLE Conference 2024.
Lingyu Sun
Research Fellow, Yu Group
Thanh Phuong Nguyen
Research Fellow, Hirashima Group
Anwesha Guru
Research Fellow, Young Group
Yong Yuen Chee Carmen
Research Assistant, Low Group
Farewell to Lou Yuting!
Farewell to Yuting - we will miss you dearly! All the best in your next endeavor as an independent researcher!
The Chan Lab heads MBI’s Outreach to Raffles Girls’ School!
Over the March school holidays, the Chan Lab headed MBI's Outreach to a group of students from Raffles Girls' School comprising talks and lab demonstrations by MBI's core staff, students and researchers.
Sriram Muthukumar
Research Fellow, Holle Group
