معرفی
Monica Chander serves as Associate Professor and Chair of the Biology Department at Bryn Mawr College, where her research investigates self-resistance mechanisms in antibiotic-producing bacteria, primarily using Streptomyces coelicolor as a model organism to understand how producers avoid autotoxicity from their own metabolites.
Her academic credentials include:
- Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Microbiology from the University of Connecticut, Farmington
- B.A. in Biochemistry from Mount Holyoke College
Dr. Chander's work bridges biochemistry and microbiology through multidisciplinary approaches—microbiological, biochemical, molecular, and analytical chemistry—to dissect bacterial defense systems against self-produced toxins. Her investigations into the SoxR regulon's role in antibiotic production have implications for antimicrobial development and bacterial pathogenesis. The lab employs techniques ranging from RNA-Seq to protein crystallography, focusing on transcriptional regulation and enzymatic mechanisms critical for bacterial survival.
Analysis of her 12 publications (1994–2015) reveals an evolutionary trajectory from early studies on Bacillus sporulation (e.g., spoVA operon function) to specialized work on SoxR-mediated oxidative stress responses in antibiotic producers, culminating in mechanistic studies of transcriptional abortive release. Key thematic threads include bacterial adaptation to toxic metabolites, redox-sensitive gene regulation, and structural enzymology of metabolic pathways.
Active mentorship defines her laboratory in Park 113, evidenced by consistent undergraduate co-authorship (marked with asterisks) across publications. Although the lab is at full capacity for 2025–2026 academic year, her sustained inclusion of students underscores commitment to undergraduate research training in molecular microbiology.
