Linda J KenneyManagement2020-02-03T15:31:05+08:00
Linda J Kenney

Liu Fan

Senior Research Fellow, Grenci Group

By Wen Ying Lois Faith|Jan 30th, 2024|Categories: Alumni|Comments Off on Liu Fan

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

  1. 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]
  2. Shetty D, and Kenney LJ. A pH-sensitive switch activates virulence in Salmonella. Elife 2023; 12. [PMID: 37706506]
  3. Oh D, Liu X, Sheetz MP, and Kenney LJ. Small, Dynamic Clusters of Tir-Intimin Seed Actin Polymerization. Small 2023;:e2302580. [PMID: 37649226]
  4. 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]
  5. 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]
  6. 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]
  7. Kenney LJ, and Anand GS. EnvZ/OmpR Two-Component Signaling: An Archetype System That Can Function Noncanonically. EcoSal Plus 2020; 9(1). [PMID: 32003321]
  8. 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]
  9. 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]
  10. Ottemann KM, and Kenney LJ. Editorial overview: Host-pathogen interactions: bacteria. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 2019; 47:iii-v. [PMID: 31138403]

Lab Members

Takumi Kawaue

Sep 26th, 2019|Comments Off on Takumi Kawaue

Visiting Research Fellow, Toyama Group

Thamarailingam Athilingam

Sep 26th, 2019|Comments Off on Thamarailingam Athilingam

Research Fellow, Saunders Group

Rakesh Das

Sep 26th, 2019|Comments Off on Rakesh Das

Research Fellow, Hiraiwa Group, Prost Group

Florian Dilasser

Sep 26th, 2019|Comments Off on Florian Dilasser

Research Fellow, Viasnoff Group

MBI’s International Conference on Genomes and AI: From Packing to Regulation, October 2-4

Sep 16th, 2019|Comments Off on MBI’s International Conference on Genomes and AI: From Packing to Regulation, October 2-4

MBI's upcoming conference will bring together leading international experts, early-career scientists and students at the intersection of genome biology and machine learning to spur new collaborations across disciplinary boundaries. This is critical for uncovering the mechanogenomic codes that link genome architecture, regulation and function, and ultimately for the development of new biomarkers and therapeutic interventions. The International Conference on Genomes and AI: From Packing to Regulation will cover the following three major themes: 1) Single-cell 1D and 3D Genomics: Experiments and Modeling, 2) Networks: From Expression to Regulatory Modules, and 3) Genome Architecture: Regulation and Biomarkers

MBI welcomes its incoming class of 2019

Sep 12th, 2019|Comments Off on MBI welcomes its incoming class of 2019

Congratulations to our incoming students! We're proud to introduce (l to r): Liang Lanfeng, Yan Wu, Kashish Jain, Ignacius Tay Yan Yun, Hu Jinrong, Liu Jingzhun, Leong Kim Whye and Deepika Singh, the newest additions to the MBI community.

Molecular controllers of stem cell mechanics

Sep 3rd, 2019|Comments Off on Molecular controllers of stem cell mechanics

Recent study led by MBI graduate student Shumin Xia and Principal Investigator Associate Professor Pakorn Tony Kanchanawong use super resolution imaging techniques to study the nanoscale organization of the cortical actin cytoskeleton in mouse embryonic stem cells and understand the role of molecules such as Arp2/3, formins, and capping protein in coordinating cortical architecture in mESCs.

Wu Yan

Aug 28th, 2019|Comments Off on Wu Yan

PhD Student, Class of August 2019, Low Group

Ignacius Tay Yan Yun

Aug 28th, 2019|Comments Off on Ignacius Tay Yan Yun

PhD Student, Class of August 2019, Toyama Group

Deepika Singh

Aug 28th, 2019|Comments Off on Deepika Singh

PhD Student, Class of August 2019, Viasnoff Group

Liu Jingzhun

Aug 28th, 2019|Comments Off on Liu Jingzhun

Research Fellow, Yan Jie Group

Liang Lanfeng

Aug 28th, 2019|Comments Off on Liang Lanfeng

Research Fellow, Class of August 2019, Lim Group

About the National University of Singapore

About NUSA leading global university centred in Asia, NUS is Singapore's flagship university, offering a global approach to education and research with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise.

About the Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore

About MBIOne of four Research Centres of Excellence at NUS, MBI is working to identify, measure and describe how the forces for motility and morphogenesis are expressed at the molecular, cellular and tissue level.
Go to Top