Washington University in St Louis · Microbiology & ImmunologyThe Viral Defense Lab
Michele Leroux · Saint Louis, Missouri
Research Focus
Professor Michele Leroux’s research focuses on the fascinating interactions between bacteria and viruses, specifically how bacteria protect themselves from viral infections using a process called ADP-ribosylation. This modification helps bacteria disable viral DNA, and her lab investigates the mechanisms behind this process and the evolution of these defenses. By studying the roles of various bacterial and viral proteins, the lab aims to enhance our understanding of bacterial immunity and develop potential therapeutic strategies like phage therapy for treating bacterial infections.
ADP-ribosylationbacterial immunityphage therapyvirus-bacteria interactionstoxin-antitoxin systems
Research Aims
5AIM 01Elucidate how phage infection activates bacterial defense systems.
AIM 02Investigate the diversity of viral countermeasures against bacterial defenses.
AIM 03Dissect unstudied families of DNA ADP-ribosyltransferases.
AIM 04Identify novel families of DNA ART and ARG using bioinformatics tools.
AIM 05Study the biological functions of bacterial ADP-ribosylation in immune contexts.
Skills the Lab Values
molecular cloningbioinformaticsChIP-seqfluorescence microscopyIn vitro experimentationgenome editingcell culturemechanistic assaysmachine learning applications
Output against the department
Publications79bottom 26% of dept.361st of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations4.2kbottom 33% of dept.328th of 486
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.