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
The gut microbe Bacteroides ovatus is elevated in people with autoimmune diseases. Which of its proteins may play an important role in the disease state?
Uncharacterized Pathogen Proteomes
Emerging bacterial pathogens are of concern for new outbreaks. Characterizing their proteomes may allow us to understand and target them more effectively.
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URSI Summer 2024
URSI Symposium 2024
Lab Members
Olive Adamek
Salih Elnour Salih Awouda
Elisa Dzuong
Lydia Freedman
Jasmine Lowenstein
Lola Yost
Dr. Krystle J. McLaughlin
Note: The lab is full for the 2024-2025 academic year.
LAB HAPPENINGS
Highlights
news from the lab
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![…]
McLaughlin Lab Attends ASBMB Meeting; Congrats to Jordan Norman ’24 For Her Poster Prize!
Our group attended the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) DiscoverBMB Meeting for the first time in San Antonio TX this past March. We were part of a big Vassar College contingent with fifteen students and four professors! I am so very proud of both my students, Maedot Abate and Jordan Norman, who Read more about McLaughlin Lab Attends ASBMB Meeting; Congrats to Jordan Norman ’24 For Her Poster Prize![…]
New paper on pSK41 Cop published in Plasmid
So excited to tell you about our latest paper published in Plasmid! The analysis of the crystal structure in this paper was completed by Faith Northern VC ’22, 4th in author list, as part of her Vassar College senior biochemistry research! Congrats! Link to paper: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1i8n2,3Mq7BJX Paper summary: We study conjugative plasmid transfer (CPT) as Read more about New paper on pSK41 Cop published in Plasmid[…]
URSI Symposium 2023
The McLaughlin Lab had two posters at the Vassar URSI Symposium in September this year! Jordan Norman ’24 (left) presented her summer work titled “Structural Characterization of Conjugative Proteins from pCU1 and pSK41”. Jas Kaur ’25 and Vidya Iyengar ’26 (right) presented their work titled “Structural Investigation of Potential Relaxosome Protein from Staphylococcus aureus pSK41″. Read more about URSI Symposium 2023[…]
Dr. McLaughlin Gives Invited Talk at MIT Chemistry
Dr. McLaughlin had a phenomenal time visiting the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Chemistry department as the seminar speaker on October 16th, 2023! It was also so wonderful to have Naike Ye (Vassar College alum ‘21 & her former advisee!) as a guide for the day and to hear about all he has accomplished already for his PhD research Read more about Dr. McLaughlin Gives Invited Talk at MIT Chemistry[…]
Protein Crystallography CURE, Publication, Highlighted in Acta Crys F Editorial & Cover!
Very proud of this work we just published in Acta Crystallographia F! The research was done by undergrad students in Dr. McLaughlin’s protein crystallography class in Spring ’23, which is run as a CURE (Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience). Students analyzed an unpublished crystal structure from the @SSGCID, then designed/ran experiments to test function. The first three authors Read more about Protein Crystallography CURE, Publication, Highlighted in Acta Crys F Editorial & Cover![…]
Congrats to Jordan Norman ’24, member of Vassar Women’s Cross Country who won their First Ever Liberty League Championship!
https://www.vassarathletics.com/news/2023/10/28/mens-cross-country-womens-cross-country-victorious-at-liberty-league-championship.aspx
Cryo-EM Training at Brookhaven National Lab
The McLaughlin Lab is starting to learn a new structural biology method- cryo-EM! Dr. McLaughlin recently attended an in-person sample preparation workshop at the new Laboratory for BioMolecular Structure at Brookhaven National Lab (LBMS BNL). The workshop gave hand-on training to each of the 12 participants. Vassar ACCAS funds generously supported Dr. McLaughlin’s attendance. Dr. Read more about Cryo-EM Training at Brookhaven National Lab[…]