Cornell University · Microbiology & ImmunologyBacterial Stress Response Lab
John D Helmann · Ithaca, New York
Research Focus
Dr. John D. Helmann's lab at Cornell University studies how bacteria, specifically Bacillus subtilis, respond to stress from both nutrients and antibiotics. They investigate how bacteria manage essential metal ions in the presence of immune responses and how they develop resistance to antibiotics. Their findings contribute to our understanding of bacterial behavior in health and disease, which can help in developing better treatments against pathogenic bacteria.
Bacillus subtilisstress responsemetal ion homeostasisantibiotic resistanceimmune systemcell envelopetranscription factorspathogen virulenceantimicrobial peptidesantibiotic synergy
Research Aims
5AIM 01Characterize the stress response in Bacillus subtilis to varying metal ion levels.
AIM 02Identify genes regulated by metal-sensing transcription factors in response to ion limitation.
AIM 03Explore antibiotic stress responses and their implications for resistance mechanisms.
AIM 04Investigate the effects of antimicrobial peptides on bacterial cell envelope integrity.
AIM 05Assess the potential for antibiotic synergies to improve treatment strategies.
Skills the Lab Values
PCRgene regulation techniquesbacterial cultureantibiotic susceptibility testingmutant screeningstress response characterizationtranscription factor analysismetal ion assaysbiochemical analysiscell envelope integrity testing
Output against the department
Publications327top 14% of dept.67th of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations27ktop 12% of dept.60th 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.