Shelley Lusetti, Department Head/Associate Professor: Chemistry & Biochemistry Department; Principal Investigator of New Mexico IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence, New Mexico.
Research Area: Cellular genome maintenance processes of DNA replication, recombination, and repair
The Lusetti lab is specifically interested in the elucidation of the biochemical roles of novel enzymes involved in DNA damage response pathways. We employ comparative biochemistry to explain the differential DNA damage tolerance of multiple bacterial organisms. Further, our research seeks to expand the understanding of bacterial DNA damage response enzymes to combat the growing problem of acquired antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria.