John Gustafson

I received my B.Sc. and M.S. from the Department of Biological Sciences at Illinois State University (Brian J. Wilkinson's laboratory) and then completed my Ph.D. at the Institute for Medical Microbiology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland (Brigitte Berger-Bachi's laboratory).I then went on to serve as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology at Tufts University School of Medicine (Stuart B. Levy's laboratory). At New Mexico State University in Las Cruces I served as the Director of the NMSU graduate program in Molecular Biology, as the Associate Department Head of Biology,and as the Biology Department Head. I also served two years on the faculty of the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University and I began my academic career at the School of Biomedical Sciences at Curtin University of Technology in Perth Western Australia. I adore hanging out with family,friends, and loved ones, cannot imagine a life without dogs, and am amazed by all living creatures (everyone should be!), from single-celled organisms on up.I do everything I can to get people excited about the importance of scientific evidence and the incredible wonder of evolution– "the greatest show on earth".

Research Interests:

I am an expert on bacterial antimicrobial resistance who presently serves as Professor and Department Head of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department. Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for ~ 19,000 deaths each year in the United States and the ability of this organism to acquire antimicrobial resistance is almost unmatched in the bacterial world. One effective method to prevent the spread of S. aureus is by using appropriate hand-disinfection which includes the use of alcohol-based hand rubs. One of the projects my laboratory is currently working on attempts to determine how S. aureus responds to antiseptics like alcohol and how this organism evolves to thwart the action of antiseptics. We have also recently begun investigating antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in the Elizabethkinigia which are emerging pathogens. These organisms cause serious infections (e.g. meningitis) in neonates, immunocompromised individuals, and the elderly, and cause community and hospital infection outbreaks. The Elizabethkingia express multiple antimicrobial resistance, which makes it difficult to find antimicrobials to treat infections caused by these organisms. I have trained a large number of undergraduate researchers in a biological safety level 2 laboratory, and have graduated numerous successful Masters and Ph.D students.