Marie-Alda Gilles-Gonzalez

Dr. Marie-Alda Gilles-Gonzalez is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Her research focuses on understanding oxygen sensing mechanisms in living organisms, particularly through heme-based sensors. She holds a PhD from MIT and conducted postdoctoral research at UC San Diego and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology under Max Perutz.

Her work has elucidated the role of FixL as a heme protein and its role in signal transduction across bacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Key contributions include identifying FixL as an oxygen-sensitive histidine kinase and discovering heme-based sensors in diverse organisms.

Research interests span structural biology, bacterial physiology, and the evolution of gas-sensing proteins. Recent work explores oxygen-dependent gene regulation in pathogens and the design of antimicrobial drugs targeting heme sensors.

Awards and recognition are listed under her 'Honors & Awards' section, though specific details are not provided here. Her lab is part of the Department of Biochemistry at UTSW, focusing on interdisciplinary approaches to protein function and microbial adaptation.