Michael D. L. Johnson, PhD
Medical Research Building
Room 221
Michael D. L. Johnson received his bachelors from Duke University. He obtained a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied the effects of calcium on bacterial motility and attachment under the mentorship of Matthew Redinbo. For his postdoctoral training, Michael Johnson went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in order to work with Jason Rosch on metal homeostasis of Streptococcus pneumoniae and subsequently with Douglas Green on the mechanisms of LC3-associated phagocytosis. Michael Johnson joined the faculty of the University of Arizona in 2016.
Metals serve as vital nutrients to all biological systems. The overall goal of my laboratory is to investigate how bacteria maintain homeostasis within the metal milieu. This goal involves determining how metals are processed, the orchestrated response during metal sensing, and the role that the host plays in this process during infection. Understanding how bacteria interact with metals during infections will identify novel therapeutic strategies against bacterial infections.
Degrees
- PhD: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- BA: Duke University, 2004
Honors and Awards
- Keystone Symposia Fellow, 2016
- Health Scholar, Aspen Ideas Festival – Spotlight Health, 2015
- Cell Mentor 100 Inspiring Black Scientists in America 2020 (Cell Press)
- 2020 NIGMS Director's Early Career Investigator Lecturer
- 2021 Changemaker Award, Duke Alumni Engagement and Development
- 2022 ASM William A. Hinton Award for Advancement of a Diverse Community of Microbiologists
Fellowship
- Post-doctoral Fellow: St. Jude Children's Hospital, Memphis, TN
Source: https://immunobiology.arizona.edu/profile/michael-d-l-johnson-phd