Marcela Olvera

I have always been curious about how stuff works and when picking my college major I went with biochemistry because it allowed me to explore the enchanting world of molecules and cellular organisms. I don't think I will ever tire of learning about systems and how those systems interact with each other. The Zgurskaya group works on the growing issue of antibiotic resistance, particularly how human bacterial pathogens utilize efflux pumps to maintain low intracellular antibiotic concentrations by actively exporting them out of the cell. My work focuses on Acinetobacter baumannii: 1) The functional characterization of AdeJ and AdeG mutants in antibiotic susceptibility assays, and 2) Cloning and characterization of two EmrAB-like efflux pumps from MDR strain A. baumannii AB5075. After defending my PhD in Fall of 2023, I plan on putting my science and people skills to use in the pharmaceutical industry.