Jeanette Miller, B.S.
Jeanette is from central Florida and earned her B.S. in advertising at the University of Florida before receiving her B.S. in microbiology from the University of South Florida. During her undergraduate, Jeanette's research focused on understanding the contribution of light pollution to disease dynamics in the lab of Dr. Lynn Martin. Now, in graduate school, Jeanette is in the lab of Dr. Eric Skaar. She devotes her research time to understanding the dynamic interplay between the vertebrate immune system and Acinetobacter baumannii in the sequestration of nutrient metals. In her free time, Jeanette greatly enjoys reading, hiking, and playing with her cat and dog.
Research Information
Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic human pathogen most notably associated with nosocomially-derived pneumonia and bacteremia. Due to multi-drug resistance, A. baumannii has few therapeutic options available thus emphasizing the need for novel drug development. The intrinsic importance of nutrient metals for all bacterial species indicates the potential for alternative therapeutic strategies targeting bacterial nutrient metal uptake systems. Calprotectin, a host defense protein, notably contributes to host nutrient metal pools by stripping pathogen metalloproteins, like zinc (Zn) through metal chelation in a process known as nutritional immunity. Understanding the dynamic interactions of host nutritional immunity and A. baumannii during infection may allow for the development of novel therapeutics targeting metal uptake.