Aisha Burton

Aisha Burton serves as an Assistant Research Professor in Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), holding a Provost New Faculty Fellowship (2024–2026) with transition to Assistant Professor in 2026. Her research program investigates small-protein-mediated regulation of bacterial stress responses in E. coli and B. subtilis, focusing on two-component system modulation.

Educational background:

• B.A. in Liberal Arts and Sciences (Chemistry concentration), University of Illinois at Chicago (2012)
• NIGMS Post-Baccalaureate Fellow (MU-PREP), University of Missouri (2013)
• Ph.D. in Microbiology, Indiana University (2019)
• NIGMS PRAT Postdoctoral Fellow, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2019–2023)

Dr. Burton's work centers on 50-amino-acid regulatory proteins that control bacterial adaptation to environmental stressors. Her laboratory employs transposon mutagenesis and molecular techniques to characterize protein functions in B. subtilis and E. coli, with implications for antimicrobial development and pathogenesis understanding. Research integrates bacterial transcription mechanisms with stress-response physiology.

Award recognition:

• Provost New Faculty Fellow (2024–2026)

The Burton Lab comprises research technicians and undergraduate students investigating small-protein regulators. Current team members include Research Technician III Xiaoxuan (Meg) Shi (M.S., Food Science) studying B. subtilis transposon mutagenesis, Research Technician III Mark Watson (B.S., Biochemistry) analyzing YshB protein function in E. coli, and undergraduates Elly Conrad (Human Development) and Tochi Ezidiegwu (Biological Sciences).