معرفی
Professor Lori Burrows is a distinguished microbiologist at McMaster University's Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences. She serves as the Associate Director (Partnerships and Outreach) of McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Diseases Research. As a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, she is recognized as an international expert in bacterial pathogenesis, particularly in the study of type IV pili and their role in bacterial virulence.
Dr. Burrows' primary research interests focus on the structure, function, and regulation of type IV pili (T4P), which are ubiquitous bacterial virulence factors used for adherence, DNA uptake, biofilm formation, and twitching motility. Her laboratory primarily uses the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model system to investigate pilin repertoire (relevant to vaccine design), pilin glycosylation systems involved in bacteriophage defense, structure-function of the pilus assembly system, and the complex regulation underlying T4P function. Additionally, her group studies biofilm formation, particularly the stimulation of biofilm development by sub-inhibitory antibiotic concentrations and the exploitation of this stimulation phenotype to discover new antimicrobials for multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria.
Dr. Burrows' research program is robustly funded by multiple prestigious sources including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Glycomics Network, the Ontario Research Fund, and industrial support. Her publication record is impressive, with over 120 peer-reviewed papers, reviews, and book chapters, and an h-index of 49. Her recent work demonstrates continued leadership in understanding bacterial pathogenesis mechanisms, antibiotic resistance, and novel approaches to antimicrobial development.
- Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology
Dr. Burrows serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Bacteriology (ASM), the Journal of Biochemistry (ASBMB), and ACS Infectious Diseases, demonstrating her significant contributions to the scientific community. Her laboratory, the Burrows Lab, is affiliated with both the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research and the David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery at McMaster University, positioning her research at the forefront of infectious disease and antibiotic discovery.
