The Cooper laboratory research focuses on utilizing different -omic tools, phenotype assays, and animal models to address the genomics, pathogenesis and epidemiology of various bacterial foodborne pathogens including Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella, Listeria, and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli.
Cooper Laboratory Research Focus:
-
Comparative genomics, transcriptomics, and epigenetics of various pathogenic bacteria, particularly Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Campylobacter, and Salmonella.
-
SNP analysis and developing other tools to improve source tracking of foodborne pathogens during outbreaks.
-
Studying the evolution of numerous bacterial foodborne pathogens in various agricultural environments.
-
Utilizing various -omics tools to identify host-specific genes, virulence genes, fitness genes and conserved genes.
-
Investigating the pathogenesis of Campylobacter and other foodborne pathogens.
-
Development and improvement of animal models for various bacteriological diseases, and innovation of effective vaccines against various bacteriological diseases.
-
Development of rapid and effective detection and surveillance techniques for foodborne pathogens.
-
Exploring the microbiomes and metagenomics of different agricultural environments, and the impact foodborne pathogens have on the communities.
-
Role antibiotic resistant bacteria in various environments have on human health.
Graduate Student Research Projects:
Jennifer Mydosh - 3rd year doctorate student
Jennifer joined the lab as a graduate student in 2020. Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in the world, which is estimated to result in close to 500 million cases per year. Infection with Campylobacter jejuni produces two different diarrheal manifestations: a bloody, inflammatory diarrhea or a watery diarrhea. However, little is known about the underlying genetics, pathogenesis, or host factors involved in the production of either clinical manifestation. The neonate piglet model is the only animal model that differentiates between these two diarrheal clinical manifestations. My research aims to solve the differential pathogenesis seen with C. jejuni strains by investigating the role of one of its two component regulatory systems called RacRS. This two component regulatory system consistently has SNPs in the racR or racS genes only with strains associated with bloody, inflammatory diarrhea. I will be creating RacRS knockout mutants in a few different strains associated with both clinical manifestation and assessing their phenotypes in vitro through virulence assays compared to the wildtype strains. Neonatal piglet studies will allow me to assess if the mutants produce a different diarrheal outcome than their wildtypes. Ultimately this research will solidify the role that RacRS plays in the production of the different diarrheal manifestations and will expand our collective knowledge on the pathogenesis of this important foodborne pathogen.
Charlene Aparicio - 2nd year master's student
Charlene joined the lab as an undergraduate in 2019. She holds a B.S. in microbiology from the University of Arizona. Charlene's work focuses on understanding the seasonal changes of microbial populations and functional gene expression on surfaces of fruit grown in different agricultural environments.The microbiome is sensitive to changes in diet and pathogens. Microbial genes in the gastrointestinal tract enable the digestion of foods and nutrient absorption that otherwise would be unavailable. Foodborne pathogens are prevalent because more foods are mass-produced than ever before, with a combination of ingredients from a much greater number of sources, including fields, feedlots, and a variety of processing facilities worldwide. These various sources can remain hidden not only to consumers but even to food companies using the ingredients. Contamination can occur at any point from farm to table, and when it does, it can be not easy to trace. Traditional communities that eat whole and ancestral foods have increased microbiome diversity than those that do not. These suppressed dysbiotic conditions may initiate pathogenesis. Consequently, living beings are at their best health when living in sync with circadian rhythms, including eating seasonally. The more we learn about these microbes, the more nutrition and the less harm we can receive from our food.
Amanda Leckband - 2nd year master's student
Amanda joined the lab from Montana State University in 2021. She is experimenting using in vitro assays involving Campylobacter jejuni, with a focus on pathogen interactions with neurotransmitters and endocannabinoids to determine effects on physiology and virulence. Endocannabinoids are a part of a biological system that is an active and complex cell signaling network. It helps balance and regulate key bodily functions. Assays with neurotransmitters and endocannabinoids at various concentrations will be tested against numerous strains of C. jejuni associated with different clinical manifestations to determine the overall excitatory or inhibitory effects on C. jejuni. This research will help function to determine if endocannabinoids are a critical bridge between C. jejuni infection and post-infectious sequelae.
Madison Goforth - Accelerated master's student
Madison joined the lab as an undergraduate in 2019. She is currently completing here B.S. and M.S. in microbiology. Her research interests lie in understanding commensal microbial populations in different environmental regions and communities such as types of soil and agricultural crops and their geography by which they are naturally found in domestic or international locations. Her current work focuses on the bacterial communities found on melon rinds based on the type of melon, as well as the region where the melon is grown in the United States. Current knowledge on the melon microbiome is very limited with one published paper on the cantaloupe microbiome in Mexico based on one farm with additional farm worker microbiomes. This paper highlights the need for further studies looking into the bacterial communities of different melons grown in varying regions. Understanding the bacterial communities on melons can help producers develop food safety protocols based on type of melon or the region in which the melon is grown. Looking at protagonistic and antagonistic bacteria in the microbial community can help further develop protocols against foodborne pathogens like Listeria spp or Salmonella spp. Further outlooks would be establishing roles of certain bacteria in plant and soil health.