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George A. O'Toole, Ph.D.
Title(s):
Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Department(s):
Microbiology and Immunology
Education:
University of Wisconsin - Madison, Ph.D., 1994
Cornell University, B.S., 1988
After postdoctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Harvard Medical School, Dr. O'Toole joined the faculty of the Department of Microbiology at Dartmouth Medical School in 1999
Programs:
Immunology Program
Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Programs
Molecular Pathogenesis Program
Websites:
http://dms.dartmouth.edu/microbio/
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~molpath/
http://dms.dartmouth.edu/mcb/
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~gotoole/
Contact Information:
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Dartmouth Medical School Vail Building - HB 7550 Hanover NH 03755 |
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Phone: 603-650-1248 Fax: 603-650-1318 Email: George.A.Otoole@Dartmouth.Edu |
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Selected Publications: |
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Leid JG, Kerr M, Selgado C, Johnson C, Moreno G, Smith A, Shirtliff ME, O'Toole GA, Cope EK |
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Professional Interests:
The main focus of the O’Toole laboratory is the study of complex surface-attached bacterial communities known as biofilms. Biofilms can form on a wide variety of surfaces including catheter lines, surgical implants, contact lenses, the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis, industrial and drinking water pipelines, and on the surfaces of plant roots. In most natural, clinical, and industrial settings bacteria live predominantly in biofilms and not as planktonic (free-swimming) cells such as those typically studied in the laboratory. Bacteria growing in biofilm communities are of great interest to the medical community, because these bacteria become highly resistant to antibiotics by an as yet unknown mechanism. Although much has been learned about the types of microbes that can form biofilms, the morphology of these communities, and their chemical/physical properties, until recently little was known about the molecular genetic basis of biofilm formation or antibiotic resistance.
Studies in the O’Toole lab focus on:
• The molecular genetic basis of biofilm formation.
• The role of the intracellular signaling molecule c-di-GMP in controlling biofilm formation by pseudomonads.
• The signal transduction pathways regulating biofilm formation.
• The mechanisms by which biofilms form on biotic, or living surfaces, and why these biofilms are so highly resistant to antibiotics. We have developed a novel model system for studying biofilms on airway epithelial cells, and these studies are done, in particular, in the context of cystic fibrosis.
• The role of lysogenic phages in impacting biofilm formation.
Recent collaborative studies with Dr. Bruce Stanton’s group here at Dartmouth have explored questions of host-pathogen interactions, using the interplay between the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and airway epithelial cells as a model system. We are particularly interested in the role of the toxin, Cif, in altering epithelial cell biology and protein trafficking. We are also studying mechanisms by which P. aeruginosa delivers toxins to host cells.
Please visit the O'Toole Lab Home Page.
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