Robert T. Clubb

Robert T. Clubb is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he leads an active research laboratory focused on host-pathogen interactions and bacterial pathogenesis. His work bridges biochemistry, biophysics, and structural biology to understand how bacterial pathogens acquire essential nutrients and cause disease.

Dr. Clubb's research focuses on three main areas: pilus assembly in bacterial pathogens, host-pathogen interactions specifically examining heme-iron acquisition, and chemical biology approaches to antibiotic discovery. His laboratory employs highly interdisciplinary methods including structural biology, biophysical, cellular, and -omics technologies to uncover molecular mechanisms that enable microbial pathogens to cause disease, with the ultimate goal of discovering new antibiotics and developing innovative biotechnological tools.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on understanding how Staphylococcus aureus and other bacterial pathogens extract heme-iron from human hemoglobin, with particular attention to the IsdH and IsdB receptor proteins. This work has significant implications for developing novel anti-infective agents against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria, as evidenced by his laboratory's high-throughput screening approaches for identifying potential therapeutic compounds.

• Nikki Cheung was awarded a Science Olympiad Fellowship
• Kylie Cheng was awarded a CMB Fellowship
• Andrew Goring was awarded a UCLA Dissertation Year Fellowship
• Multiple students have received UCLA Whitcome Fellowships

Dr. Clubb has successfully mentored numerous graduate students, with recent lab members including Esmeralda Corrales, Nikki Cheung, Allen Takayesu (winner of best poster at the Protein Society Meeting), Kylie Cheng, Andrew Goring, Christine Minor, Reece Pawlacyk, and Dr. Chris Sue who completed his PhD in biochemistry. His laboratory has been supported by multiple NIH grants including R01 GM103479, R01 AI052217, and S10 RR028893.

The Clubb Laboratory maintains state-of-the-art facilities in Boyer Hall (rooms 620, 621, and 660) at UCLA, equipped for advanced structural biology, biophysical, and microbiological research. The team collaborates extensively with researchers across disciplines to tackle fundamental questions in bacterial pathogenesis and antibiotic resistance, with ongoing projects investigating heme acquisition mechanisms in multiple bacterial species.