Yousif Shamoo

Yousif Shamoo is the Ralph and Dorothy Looney Professor of BioSciences at Rice University, where he has been a faculty member since 1998. He previously served as Vice Provost for Research (2014-2022) and Director of the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering (2008-2014). He holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University (1988).

His research focuses on combating multi-drug resistant bacteria through experimental evolution and biophysical approaches. Key interests include:

• Evolutionary trajectories of antibiotic resistance in pathogens like Enterococcus and Acinetobacter
• Biochemical basis of adaptation using microfluidics, genomics, and structural biology
• Discovery of novel antimicrobial strategies targeting cell membrane stress pathways
• Microbial interactions in spatially structured environments

Publications emphasize antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, evolutionary biophysics, and microfluidic technology development. Recent work explores daptomycin resistance pathways (LiaFSR), membrane lipid signaling, and high-throughput evolution platforms.

Awards & Honors:

• AAAS Fellow (2024)
• Ralph and Dorothy Looney Professorship (2020)
• George R. Brown Award for Excellence in Teaching (2015)
• George R. Brown Superior Teaching Award (4×, 2009 onward)
• ASM Distinguished Lecturer (2011-2013)

He leads an active research group funded by NIH and DoD, advising 15+ graduate students. Current projects integrate synthetic biology with Streptomyces-derived drug discovery and microfluidic biosurveillance platforms.