University of South Florida · BiochemistryThe Lyme Pathogenesis Lab
Zhiming Ouyang · Tampa, Florida
Research Focus
Dr. Zhiming Ouyang's lab at the University of South Florida focuses on understanding how the Lyme disease-causing bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi regulates its virulence. By studying a protein called BosR, the lab aims to reveal how this bacterium adapts to its environments, such as ticks and mammals, and uses unique mechanisms to control its infection capabilities. Insights from this research may lead to new treatments or vaccines for Lyme disease, highlighting its importance for public health.
Lyme diseaseBorrelia burgdorferivirulence regulationpathogenesisprotein structuretick-mammal transmissionmolecular biologygene expressionantimicrobial strategies
Research Aims
3AIM 01Define the BosR regulon and its contributions to Bb's infectious cycle.
AIM 02Examine the biological roles of the cis-regulatory elements upstream of bosR.
AIM 03Determine the structure of BosR to understand its molecular functions.
Skills the Lab Values
PCRgene expression analysisprotein purificationmolecular cloningreporter assaysin vivo animal modelsbioinformaticsDNA sequencingstructural biology
Output against the department
Publications38bottom 4% of dept.386th of 402
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations1.2kbottom 4% of dept.385th of 402
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.