Asma Hatoum-Aslan

Asma Hatoum-Aslan is an Associate Professor of Microbiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, affiliated with the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology and the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. Her research focuses on bacterial-virus (phage) interactions, CRISPR-Cas immunity mechanisms, and phage engineering for therapeutic applications. She holds a B.S. in Molecular Biology from Florida Institute of Technology (1998), M.S. in Biochemistry from American University of Beirut (2001), Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Cornell University (2007), and postdoctoral training at Cornell and Rockefeller University.

Research interests include understanding CRISPR-Cas10 systems in Staphylococcus species, engineering phages for antimicrobial use, and discovering novel phages/immune systems. Notable breakthroughs include uncovering a new single-enzyme immune system and developing phage genetic engineering platforms. She teaches MCB 493-REM, a research-based microbiology course that engages undergraduates in phage discovery (95+ students since 2010).

• Awards: NIH K22, NSF CAREER, Burroughs Wellcome PATH Award
• Lab Affiliations: Host-Phage Interaction Lab, CRISPR-Cas Engineering Group
• Key Collaborations: Joint projects with Carl R. Woese Institute, high school outreach programs