College of Dentistry
The Shields Lab
Led by Robert C Shields · Oral Biology
What we study
The Shields Lab studies how Streptococcus mutans causes tooth decay using techniques like Tn-seq and CRISPRi. Their goal is to find new ways to fight this harmful bacteria.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Bacteria & microbes
- Project
- 1
- Papers
- 5
Current projects
Investigating the functions and molecular mechanisms of protein O-phosphorylation in Streptococcus mutans
Studying how phosphorylation affects Streptococcus mutans using genetic tools.
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- High-level production of antibacterial pentacyclic triterpenoids from hairy root cultures of Bixa orellana via abiotic elicitation
2026 · Industrial Crops and Products
Uses plant roots to make antibacterial compounds from Bixa orellana.
- Late-Stage Functionalization of the Rifamycin Core via Click Chemistry Toward New Antibacterial Derivatives
2026 · Molecules
Develops a method to make new rifamycin derivatives for fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
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- Genomic instability and biofilm determinants in Streptococcus mutans : insights from a sequence-defined arrayed transposon library
2026 · Journal of Bacteriology
Builds a library of mutants to study biofilm formation in Streptococcus mutans.
- Bacterial evolution in the oral microbiome: the role of conjugative elements and horizontal gene transfer
2025 · Journal of Bacteriology
Reviews how mobile genes spread traits like antibiotic resistance in the mouth.
- Post-translational modifications via serine/threonine phosphorylation and GpsB in Streptococcus mutans
2025 · mSystems
Identifies many phosphorylated proteins in Streptococcus mutans and their roles.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
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