Erin E. Carlson

Erin Carlson’s research seeks to address the public health emergency of antibiotic resistance. Traditional antibacterial drugs directly kill bacteria, which results in the rapid evolution of resistance. Carlson’s innovative approach is to instead block the ability of bacteria to sense and respond to their surroundings. Her research has dramatically expanded our understanding of how bacteria interact with their environment and how this can be disrupted to weaken a pathogen’s ability to cause disease.