Agricultural and Life Sciences (IFAS)
Czyz Lab
Led by Daniel Czyz · Microbiology and Cell Science
What we study
The Czyz Lab studies how gut bacteria affect protein folding in diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and develops host-targeted strategies to combat antibiotic resistance. They use worms and bacteria to explore these links.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Worms (C. elegans)
- Bacteria & microbes
- Coding helps
- Projects
- 4
- Papers
- 5
Current projects
Microbial pathogenesis in protein conformational diseases
They study how gut bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae affect protein aggregation in worms.
Host-targeted Therapeutics
They develop strategies to enhance host immune cells' ability to fight infections, bypassing antibiotic resistance.
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Isolation and Host-Range Testing of Bacteriophage from Florida Water Samples for Treatment of P. aeruginosa Infection
The lab isolates viruses that kill the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Florida water. Students grow the phages, purify them, and test which of 55 clinical bacterial strains they can infect, helping develop new antibacterial therapies.
From the Spring 2025 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium · abstract book, p. 421
Prevotella corporis prevents and reverses protein aggregation in Caenorhabditis elegans through activation of a protective stress response
The lab studies how a gut bacterium, Prevotella corporis, stops harmful protein clumps in a tiny worm model of neurodegenerative disease. Students measure stress‑response proteins to see how the bacteria protect the worm’s cells.
From the Spring 2025 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium · abstract book, p. 93
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- Modulation of host proteostasis by Prevotella corporis via induction of the heat shock response
2026 · Cell Stress and Chaperones
Found that a gut bacteria may protect brain cells by triggering stress responses.
- Reducing Antibiotic Dependence in Poultry: The Potential of Phytochemicals as Antibiotic Alternatives Against Bacterial Foodborne Pathogens
2026 · Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
Reviewed plant-based compounds as possible replacements for antibiotics in poultry.
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- The microbiota–proteostasis axis: implications in neurodegenerative diseases
2026 · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
Looked at how gut bacteria might affect protein balance in brain diseases.
- Soil-Derived Bacillus pumilus Strains Demonstrate Antagonistic Activity Against Magnaporthe oryzae and Multiple Plant Growth-Promoting Traits
2026 · International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Tested if certain bacteria can fight rice blast disease and boost plant growth.
- Rapid Biotyping Discrimination of Methicillin-Susceptible and -Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Using Flow Injection Analysis–Ion Mobility–Mass Spectrometry
2026 · Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Advances in the Clinical Lab
Developed a fast method to tell if staph bacteria are resistant to antibiotics.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
Daniel Czyz hasn't set up this page yet. Their UF Scholars profile lists their publications.