Martin McGavin
Associate Professor
Postdoc: University of Alabama, USA
PhD: University of Guelph, Canada
Office: Siebens Drake Research Institute, Room 126
Phone: 519.850.2458
Email: mmcgavin@uwo.ca
Lab Website: http://publish.uwo.ca/~mmcgavin/mcgavinlab/
Area of Study:
Sensing and response of Staphylococcus aureus to chemical signals of innate immunity
-MRSA and antibiotic resistance
-TetR family regulator
-Efflux pump function and regulation
-Gene expression
-Colonization
-Environmental stress and sensor kinase function
-Secreted proteases
Research Profile
The McGavin lab studies mechanisms by which Staphylococcus aureus senses, adapts to and responds to chemical signals of innate immunity, including antimicrobial fatty acids, acidic pH and antimicrobial peptides. Areas of study include how successful strains of S. aureus adapt to conditions encountered on their human hosts, efflux mediated resistance to antimicrobial fatty acids, and the means by which sensor kinases are activated in response to combined stresses of acidic pH, antimicrobial fatty acids and antimicrobial peptides.