Katrina Forest

Katrina Forest is a Professor of Bacteriology and Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and serves as Chair of the Department of Bacteriology. Her research focuses on structural microbiology, particularly the molecular mechanisms of bacterial proteins with implications for pathogenesis and biotechnology. She leads the Forest Group, which leverages X-ray crystallography and interdisciplinary approaches to study Type IV pili and bacteriophytochromes.

• Education: B.S. from MIT (1987), Ph.D. from Princeton University (1993), Postdoctoral Research at The Scripps Research Institute

Her work on Type IV pili investigates their role in biofilm formation, surface motility, and pathogenic attachment, while her research on bacteriophytochromes explores light-dependent signal transduction and the development of near-infrared fluorescent proteins for in vivo imaging. These studies bridge fundamental molecular biology with applications in nanotechnology, vaccine development, and medical imaging.

She collaborates across microbiology, biophysics, biochemistry, and chemistry, with publications spanning structural analysis of pilin proteins, photoreceptor engineering, and secretion system dynamics. Her lab's contributions include mechanistic insights into the PilT ATPase and PilD maturation enzyme, as well as pioneering work on DrCBD (Deinococcus radiodurans chromophore binding domain) for biotechnological applications.

Key Departments:

• Department of Bacteriology (Chair)
• Department of Chemistry