Jeff Watson, Ph.D.

The Watson lab studies the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase and its role in the physiology and pathogenesis of the bacterium Burkholderia cenocepacia, an opportunistic lung pathogen that is naturally resistant to most known antibiotics and a major cause of fatality in cystic fibrosis patients.  There are many unusual aspects of this enzyme, from its fundamental biochemistry to its evolutionary history, that suggest it may be a highly regulated enzyme in the bacterium and therefore maybe a new target for future antibiotics.  We employ protein chemistry, spectroscopy, molecular biology and bioinformatics techniques to understand the molecular mechanisms by which this unusual enzyme performs its function.