Würzburg Life Science Seminar: Karen Ottemann & Till Strowig

Prof Karen Ottemann - “Bacterial flagella contain proteins from a separate organelle, Type IV pili, that confer new control on flagellar functions”

Karen Ottemann is professor and chair at the University of California—Santa Cruz. The Ottemann lab focuses on elucidating the mechanisms by which chronic pathogens colonize, persist, and cause disease. Her research aims to understand how the ulcer-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori survives in the hostile environment of the mammalian stomach and how H. pylori senses and responds to this environment, with a particular focus on chemotaxis and flagellar motility.

Prof Till Strowig - “Molecular insights into the biology of the prevalent gut commensal Segatella copri”

Till Strowig is a group leader at the HZI in Braunschweig. He is interested in understanding how human microbiota affect infectious diseases and how they can be manipulated to treat diseases. His lab uses well-defined model systems and a wide variety of techniques from genetics to bioinformatics to dissect regulatory networks between the host immune system, commensal members of the microbiota as well as bacterial and viral pathogens.