Brenda A. Wilson

Brenda A. Wilson is a Professor of Microbiology and Associate Director for Undergraduate Education at the University of Illinois's School of Molecular & Cellular Biology (MCB). She holds additional academic titles, including Adjunct Professor of Pathobiology at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Professor of Biomedical and Translational Sciences at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. Dr. Wilson’s research focuses on bacterial protein toxins, host-pathogen interactions, and microbiome dynamics in human and nonhuman primates. Her work bridges basic science and translational medicine, with projects on toxin-based drug delivery systems, botulism therapeutics, and vaginal/gut microbiota roles in health/disease.

Education: B.A. in Biochemistry from Barnard College (1981), Ph.D. in Chemistry from Johns Hopkins University (1989), and postdoctoral training in Microbiology at Harvard Medical School (1989–1993). She has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and co-authored textbooks on bacterial pathogenesis and antimicrobial resistance.

Research interests include: 1) Mechanisms of toxin-mediated cell damage and signal transduction; 2) Development of anti-toxin therapies and cargo-delivery platforms; 3) Microbial ecology of the human microbiome, particularly in vaginal and gut ecosystems. Collaborative projects involve comparative genomics, metabolomics, and proteomics.

Dr. Wilson has received numerous honors, including the American Academy of Microbiology Fellowship (2020) and Sandia Senior Faculty Fellow (2019). Her leadership roles include Scientific Co-Director of the Center for Zoonoses Research and membership in interdisciplinary institutes like the Center for Global Studies.