معرفی
Petra Levin is the George William and Irene Koechig Freiberg Professor of Biology and Associate Chair of Faculty Research and Development at Washington University in St. Louis. Her work focuses on bacterial cell division, nutrient sensing, and antibiotic resistance mechanisms. She holds a PhD from Harvard University and has pioneered studies on how environmental conditions like nutrient availability and pH influence bacterial cell size and division dynamics.
Research Interests include:
- Cell cycle coordination with environmental signals
- Molecular mechanisms of cell size control
- ppGpp-mediated antibiotic tolerance
- FtsZ cytoskeletal dynamics
- Environmental pH effects on cell wall synthesis
Recent work highlights how nutrient starvation induces metabolic changes that enhance antibiotic resistance, with implications for clinical settings. Her lab uses multidisciplinary approaches combining genetics, biochemistry, and microscopy.
Awards include the NSF CAREER Award (2005), Fulbright Scholarship (2015), and election to the American Academy of Microbiology (2018). She co-hosts the This Week in Microbiology podcast and founded the EnTER program supporting underrepresented students in STEM.
