Laboratory for Microbial Dynamics (LaMDa)
At the Laboratory for Microbial Dynamics (LaMDa) we aim to understand how pathogenic (disease-causing) microorganisms contribute to the development of disease at the molecular level, and how changes and variability in their genomes (DNA, RNA) affect cellular and viral prosesses, including resistance to antimicrobial agents and the potential for vaccine development. A feature story on LaMDa activities can be found in the June 2012 issue of NBS-nytt, page 6-9 (linked PDF-file, Norwegian).
Microorganisms studied within LaMDa include infectious salmon anemia virus, Francisella noatuensis, Vibrio cholerae, and Bacillus cereus group bacteria.
About the group
LaMDa is an emerging top-tier research group at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The laboratory is closely associated with several other research groups working within molecular microbiology at the Faculty (forming part of the microbiology network Micro), as well as with other Norwegian and international collaborators. The research is centered around the dynamic behavior of bacterial genomes and the cellular processes affected by such mechanisms. Our mission is to understand how genome dynamics drives the evolution and affects pathogenicity in microbial organisms. The group currently receives research funding through a FUGE II grant (Norwegian Research Council), an EU FP7 Marie Curie Staff Exchange grant (IRSES), and internal grants from the University of Oslo (Småforsk, and from The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the School of Pharmacy). Our goal is twofold: to perform first class science, and to create an environment where younger students and scientists can learn and develop into more mature scientists in general, and microbiologists in particular.
LaMDa hosts ETOX15 - European workshop on bacterial protein toxins, June 18-22, 2011, as part of the University of Oslo 200 year anniversary.
Research projects
LaMDa runs six main research projects, each lead by a principal investigator (PI) with permanent affiliation to the research group. Topics include genome dynamics in pathogenic Bacillus bacteria, structure-function relationships of multidrug transporters and molecular mehanisms governing biofilm formation in Bacillus cereus group bacteria, relationship of bacteriophages and type IV pili in Vibrio cholerae, virulence factors of Francisella and development of Francicellosis in fish, and molecular biology of salmon anemia virus (SAV). More detailed descriptions of the research projects are accessible from the left hand toolbar.
