Kevin Wilson

Kevin Wilson is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and adjunct professor of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics at Oklahoma State University (OSU). He teaches large undergraduate classes in biochemistry and synthetic biology, and advises students in their research and career paths. His research focuses on understanding how antibiotics disrupt bacterial translation mechanisms, particularly in persister cells that survive antibiotic treatments. Wilson’s work combines biochemical, structural, and genetic approaches to study ribosome-targeting antibiotics and their impact on bacterial physiology.

Education: BS in Biochemistry (University of Arizona, 1988), PhD in Biochemistry (University of Oregon, 1995), Postdoctoral training at UC Santa Cruz (1995–2001). He held prior academic positions at the University of Alberta (2001–2010) and McGill University (2010–2011).

Research Interests: Antibiotic resistance mechanisms, persister cell biology, ribosome structure-function relationships, translational regulation in bacteria. His lab investigates how antibiotics perturb the translational machinery, particularly in pathogenic bacteria, to identify novel targets for drug development.

Grants: Multiple NIH grants on translation complexes in E. coli persisters (2014–2017) and antibiotic-tolerant bacteria. Active funding includes the COBRE Administrative Core (2014–2018).

Teaching: Courses include Biochemistry I, Medicine and Molecules, Synthetic Biology, and undergraduate research supervision. He emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches and modern biotechnologies in his teaching.