Abby Kroken

Abby Kroken is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at Loyola University Chicago, specializing in host-pathogen interactions at the ocular surface that lead to bacterial keratitis.

Education:

• Ph.D. from Medical College of Wisconsin

Her research focuses on how corneal epithelial cells defend against pathogens like Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, particularly during contact lens wear or corneal injury. The Kroken Lab employs intravital and ex vivo imaging to study single-cell host-microbe dynamics, bacterial bistability in virulence expression, and intracellular bacterial niches within epithelial cells. Key investigations include how P. aeruginosa evades inflammasome activation and maintains intracellular replication.

Publication analysis shows a transition from neurotoxin research (2011-2016) to ocular surface microbiology (2018-2020). Recent work emphasizes P. aeruginosa's role in contact lens-related keratitis, utilizing novel murine models and live imaging to dissect bacterial motility, epithelial barrier compromise, and IL-1R-dependent inflammation pathways.

Dr. Kroken mentors graduate students within Loyola's microbiology program, though specific advisees aren't listed in source materials. Grant details remain unspecified, but her lab develops computational image analysis tools for quantifying rare bacterial behaviors.

Lab Focus: The Kroken Lab combines bacterial genetics, multilayer corneal epithelium models, and advanced imaging to map host defense mechanisms against ocular pathogens, with GitHub-hosted scripts supporting image processing for bleb formation, bacterial accumulation, and biofilm analysis.