Research Interests:
All living things need metals to survive. At the host/pathogen interface, bacteria must acquire those metals from within. While host and microbe battle over metals like iron and manganese, not all host utilized metals are desirable for bacteria. In fact, copper is largely toxic to them; a fact that is exploited by the host. As such, bacteria devote significant resources to maintain metal homeostasis through systems that address the stress of excess or deficiency. Dr. Johnson looks at copper stress affected and overcoming systems, how bacteria use metals to perceive their environment, and how we can take advantage of it all to develop new therapeutics