Samantha Miranda
Research/Areas of Interest
We are in the midst of a growing antimicrobial resistance crisis, compounded by chronic and polymicrobial infections where bacterial physiology and interspecies interactions contribute to both phenotypic drug resistance and to the emergence of genetic resistance. To address these challenges, the Miranda Laboratory integrates chemical biology, molecular microbiology, and genomics to elucidate the chemical networks and molecular mechanisms governing bacterial community behaviors during infection.
A primary area of focus is the evolution and function of diversity in cell-to-cell communication (quorum sensing) within the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and related Gram-negative Proteobacteria. By mapping the molecular and evolutionary determinants of signal selectivity, we seek to predict and understand how signaling diversity shapes the behavior of clinical isolates in complex communities. A second, growing area of focus in the laboratory is the phylogenomics and molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis in P. aeruginosa during ocular infection. By combining genomic analyses of clinical isolates with dual-species models of polymicrobial infection and pathogen-commensal interactions, we aim to uncover how microbial dynamics influence virulence and antibiotic susceptibility during infection.
Education
- PhD, Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States, 2017
- BA, Biochemistry; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, United States, 2012