Research interests

We study tuberculosis pathogenesis, bacterial response to zinc, and alternative ribosomes. Better known as being intracellular, Mycobacterium tuberculosis is also found extracellularly in necrotic granulomas. We hypothesize that zinc limitation in necrotic granulomas leads to dramatic physiological changes, including ribosome restructuring. These “alternative” ribosomes form when zinc is scarce, which may differ in their activity, specificity and/or localization compared to “primary” ribosomes.