Structure & Function of Microbial Proteins
Spread of Antibiotic Resistance
Bacteria gain antibiotic resistance commonly through conjugative plasmid transfer (CPT). What is the molecular basis of this process?
Gut Microbe Bacteriodes ovatus
Complex carbohydrates (CPS) on the cell surface of gut microbe Bacteroides ovatus may play a role in its correlation with disease. How are CPS synthesized and expressed ?
Emerging Pathogen Proteomes
Emerging bacterial pathogens are of concern for new outbreaks. Characterizing their proteomes may allow us to understand and target them more effectively.
McLaughlin Lab Group Login
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Below: URSI 2024 & 2025 Group Outings (clockwise): Vanderbilt Mansion, The Heartwood, Bard College (to use their ITC!), and Beacon NY
Lab Members
Olive Adamek
Elisa Dzuong
Heewon Ham
Darian Hulsart
Serena Carpino
Leah Dourmashkin
Ryan Jiang
Aroo Jang
James Lee
Justyn Orellana
Dr. Krystle J. McLaughlin
Note: The lab is full for the 2025-2026 academic year.
LAB HAPPENINGS
Highlights
The class is structured as a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) so students conduct real research which has led to several publications. (Jul 2025)
It was also included in an ACS Journals special issue celebrating Women and Girls in Science Day 2025! (Apr 2025)
Jordan is now in the MD/PhD program at UCSF! (March 2024)
This multiyear, $100,000 grant supports research into antibiotic resistance transfer, and protein crystallography course development. (Feb 2022)
We were also guests in the Interview with the Authors series. (May 2024)
news from the lab
2025 Conferences
The McLaughlin Lab at conferences and symposia throughout the year: ASBMB, ACA, HVLSG, ACS Hudson URS and URSI! ASBMB (April 2025) ACS Mid-Hudson URS (April 2025) HVLSG Annual Meeting (May 2025) ACA July 2025 URSI Symposium (September 2025)
Innovative Protein Crystallography CURE Highlighted
Check out this Vassar story written about the protein crystallography CURE developed by Dr. McLaughlin: https://www.vassar.edu/news/students-and-professor-unlock-keys-protein-function-disease-causing-bacteria This course is supported by her Cottrell Scholars Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.
Dr. McLaughlin Featured in Chemistry World Magazine Article
https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/chemists-amid-coronavirus-five-years-on-krystle-mclaughlin/4021061.article
Our BoPDA Paper chosen for ACS Journals Special Issue!
Honored to share that our article “Carbohydrate Deacetylase Unique to Gut Microbe Bacteroides Reveals Atypical Structure” was selected for an ACS Publications special issue celebrating Women and Girls in Science Day 2025! Still feeling proud and smiling at this email which informed us of the paper’s selection: “Congratulations! We looked through a large number of Read more about Our BoPDA Paper chosen for ACS Journals Special Issue![…]
Two papers on L. pnuemophila proteins accepted for publication (Apr 2025)!
Two papers from work done in Fall 2023 Protein Crystallography (Bioc/Chem 295) class have been published in the April 2025 issue of Acta Cryst F. LpPDF: https://journals.iucr.org/paper?S2053230X25001876 LpdUTPase: https://journals.iucr.org/paper?S2053230X25001815 Congrats to all the undergraduate co-authors Chi Nguyen ’26, Abigail Tramell ’26, Jordan Norman ’24, Sean Fisher ’25, William Fan ’25, and Krystal Matthews ’25! Special Read more about Two papers on L. pnuemophila proteins accepted for publication (Apr 2025)![…]
BoPDA Paper Accepted for Publication in Biochemistry (Jan 2025)!
Excited to announce that our paper on Bacteroides ovatus polysaccharide deacetylase (BoPDA) was accepted for publication in December 2024, and appears in the January 2025 issue of Biochemistry: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.biochem.4c00519! Congrats to all seven Vassar undergraduate co- authors: Lilith A. Schwartz ’22, Jordan O. Norman ’24, Sharika Hasan ’19, Olive E. Adamek ’27, Elisa Dzuong ’27, Read more about BoPDA Paper Accepted for Publication in Biochemistry (Jan 2025)![…]
Cryo-EM Training and Data Collection @NCCAT (Dec 2024)
Our proposal was awarded giving us funding for two students and Dr. McLaughlin to be trained in cryo-EM techniques at the National Center for Cryo-EM Access and Training (NCCAT) at the New York Structural Biology Center (NYSBC)! We had a 3-day visit, working one-on-one with cryo-EM scientist Dr. Eugene Chua, to gain skills for preparation Read more about Cryo-EM Training and Data Collection @NCCAT (Dec 2024)[…]
Dr. McLaughlin Attends IRACDA Conference as Invited Panelist
I was thrilled to be back in Chapel Hill for the annual IRACDA Conference in June 2024. I was invited to be part of the Alumni Panel, as a former SPIRE Postdoctoral Fellow. It was overall an excellent experience getting to hear talks about pedagogy and exciting research!
Dr. McLaughlin Gives Invited Talk at 2024 Bioorganic Gordon Research Conference
I had a great time at the Bioorganic Chemistry Gordon Research Conference this past June in Andover NH! It was my 1st time attending one and I was honored to give an invited talk. I spoke about our lab’s work on characterizing pCU1 TraK in the Infectious Diseases session. The science & scientists there were Read more about Dr. McLaughlin Gives Invited Talk at 2024 Bioorganic Gordon Research Conference[…]
MsFabG4 paper accepted for publication!
Our paper titled: “Structural and functional characterization of FabG4 from Mycolicibacterium smegmatis” was accepted for publication in April 2024 to Acta Crys F! Congrats to student co-first authors Xinping Ran ’22 and Prashit Parikh ’21. Our structure was highlighted on the cover (above) and we were interviewed as part of new initiative: “Interviews with Authors”. Read more about MsFabG4 paper accepted for publication![…]