Ray Larsen

Dr. Ray Larsen is a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences at Bowling Green State University, serving as the Graduate Program Coordinator. His research focuses on energy-coupling mechanisms in bacterial transport systems.

• Education: Ph.D. from the University of Montana

Research interests include:

• Structural requirements for energy transfer in the TonB system
• Host range specificity in phage utilizing bacterial transport systems
• Bacterial toxin transmembrane transport
• Evolution of beta-lactamase proteins in soil microbiomes

Recent publications highlight his work on protein conformational changes in the TonB system, TolQ protein's role in bacterial division, and comparative studies of transport proteins across species. His work bridges membrane biology, biochemistry, and evolutionary microbiology.