RESEARCH
How do environmental metals reshape the ribosome?
Soil environments are rich in metals, but excess metals like Zn²⁺ can disrupt essential cellular processes. We investigate how elevated metal levels alter ribosome assembly and function across diverse soil-dwelling bacteria.
By comparing environmental isolates, we aim to uncover how different microbes adapt—or fail to adapt—to metal stress at the level of translation. This work connects environmental chemistry to core cellular machinery and helps explain how microbial communities respond to changing ecosystems.
Translational control during starvation: the role of Tma10
Cells must rapidly reprogram gene expression to survive nutrient limitation. In budding yeast, we study how translation is regulated during carbon starvation, with a focus on poorly characterized genes.
Our work on Tma10, a starvation-induced ribosome-associated factor, aims to define how cells fine-tune translation during stress. This project links environmental cues to ribosome function and provides insight into how cells prioritize survival under nutrient-limited conditions.
Discovering new ribosome assembly factors
Ribosome assembly is a highly coordinated and still incompletely understood process. We are identifying and characterizing putative ribosome assembly factors in E. coli to uncover the mechanisms that ensure proper ribosome formation.
By combining genetic, biochemical, and functional approaches, this project addresses fundamental questions about how ribosomes are built, and what goes wrong when this process is disrupted.
What triggers antimicrobial production in soil bacteria?
Soil microbes produce antibiotics as part of their ecological strategies, but the environmental cues that activate these pathways are often unknown. We study how stress conditions—such as nutrient limitation and competition—regulate antimicrobial production in environmental isolates.
This work has both ecological and applied significance, with the potential to uncover new strategies for activating “silent” biosynthetic pathways and discovering novel antimicrobial compounds.
Teaching through discovery: CURE development and education research
A central goal of the Gibbs Lab is to integrate research and teaching. Our projects are embedded in a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in BIOL 4101, where students engage in authentic, discovery-driven experiments.
In parallel, we conduct education research to evaluate how CURE design influences student learning, scientific reasoning, and identity as scientists. This work helps define best practices for creating inclusive, impactful research experiences in the classroom.