• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

Open Search Menu

The College of Arts & Sciences

Department of Biology

  • Home
  • About
    • Message from the Chair
    • Faculty
    • Research Associates & Postdocs
    • Staff
    • Graduate Students
    • Administration
    • Offices & Centers
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Outreach
    • History
    • About Bloomington
  • Undergraduate
    • Biology
    • Biotechnology
    • Microbiology
    • Molecular Life Sciences
    • Research & Teaching Opportunities
    • Honors Program
    • Advising
    • Awards & Scholarships
    • Student Experience
    • Graduate & Professional Program Preparation
    • Career Preparation
  • Graduate
    • Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Ph.D.
    • Genome, Cell, and Developmental Biology Ph.D.
    • Microbiology Ph.D.
    • Biotechnology M.S.
    • Multidisciplinary & Affiliated Programs
    • Advising
    • Financial Support
    • Awards & Fellowships
    • Life Assistance
    • Career Preparation
    • Alumni Career Spotlights
    • How to Apply
  • Research
    • Research Faculty
    • Associated Research Faculty
    • Research Strengths
    • Centers, Instrumentation, & Resources
    • Faculty Awards
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events Calendar
    • Seminars
    • Named Lectures
    • Discussion Groups & Journal Clubs
    • Annual GCDB Retreat
    • Annual Microbiology Retreat
    • Newsletters
  • Alumni & Giving
  • Search
  • Contact
  • Student Portal
  • Donate
  • News
  • Events Calendar
  • Seminars
  • Named Lectures
  • Discussion Groups & Journal Clubs
  • Annual GCDB Retreat
  • Annual Microbiology Retreat
  • Newsletters
  • Home
  • News & Events
  • News
  • 2022 News
  • IU biologist investigating important signal-blocking compounds that could be key to ‘disarming’ deadly bacteria

IU biologist investigating important signal-blocking compounds that could be key to ‘disarming’ deadly bacteria

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Julia van Kessel.
Julia van Kessel. Photo by Sandee Milhouse

Antimicrobial resistance—associated with nearly 5 million deaths worldwide in 2019—is listed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of our most urgent public health problems.

Julia van Kessel, an associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biology at Indiana University Bloomington, is developing a new strategy to solve the problem.

She and members of her lab study aspects of quorum sensing, a cell-to-cell signaling system used by bacteria to collectively alter gene expression in response to changes in population density and composition. Quorum sensing controls behaviors that benefit the group for adaption and survival. It helps bacteria detect whether their population numbers are large enough to perform an action, such as mounting an attack on the human body during an infection.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded van Kessel $2,030,527 to continue her research through 2027, a five-year extension of the Maximizing Investigators' Research Award for Early Stage Investigators (R35), first presented by the organization to van Kessel in 2017.

The van Kessel lab has been collecting fundamental data critical to understanding quorum sensing and how it impacts bacterial pathogenesis. The researchers use Vibrio bacteria as established quorum sensing model systems and relevant pathogens. They initially studied the bioluminescent species Vibrio harveyi for which the most is known about quorum sensing. Their current research now extrapolates from their key basic findings to Vibrio pathogens such as Vibrio vulnificus, the causative agent of the disease vibriosis in humans.

bioluminescent bacteria spelling out words on plates
Scientists in van Kessel's lab can "paint" with the bioluminescent bacteria used to study quorum sensing. Quorum sensing controls expression of the genes in the bacteria that enable the cells to "glow in the dark" after reaching high numbers. Image courtesy of the van Kessel Lab

The researchers’ previous work identified important and highly conserved biochemical, biophysical, and genetic features of LuxR and Vibrio quorum signaling systems that govern gene expression. In Vibrio species, LuxR is the master transcription factor and the conserved core regulator of quorum sensing genes and virulence.

The van Kessel lab’s proposed research will expand upon its earlier findings to examine gene regulation by LuxR at the mechanistic level and then more broadly connect this information to the conservation and impact of quorum signaling networks across Vibrio species.

One aspect of van Kessel’s research will employ newly identified and patented antimicrobial compounds: a panel of thiophenesulfonamide inhibitors developed in her lab to specifically block LuxR protein function in Vibrio bacteria. These molecules are key tools that will guide their understanding of LuxR function and inform structure-activity modeling and inhibitor design for potential therapeutic compounds.

With increased knowledge about how quorum sensing and proteins control pathogenesis in bacteria, van Kessel hopes to develop these compounds into drugs that target the quorum sensing pathway. When bacteria cannot use quorum sensing to count their numbers, they do not know when to launch their “attack” and cannot cause disease.

Traditional antibiotics used to treat disease and infection work by preventing bacterial cell growth. Antibiotics are quite effective, but they also have a high potential to generate antibiotic resistance. If drugs that block quorum sensing are used, they would stop expression of virulence genes but not kill the bacteria. The immune system could clear the infection, and the rate of antibiotic resistance would be minimized.

“It’s like taking the weapons away from the army but not killing the soldiers,” van Kessel explains. “It’s an effective strategy to stop the war with less damage. Understanding quorum signaling and how it impacts bacterial pathogenesis has the potential to contribute to advances in vibriosis disease treatment and other bacterial infections.”

  • Faculty + Staff Intranet

Department of Biology social media channels

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Department of Biology

The College of Arts & Sciences

Indiana University

Copyright © 2025 The Trustees of Indiana University

Accessibility | College Scorecard | Privacy Notice

  • About
    • Message from the Chair
    • Faculty
      • Tenured + Tenure-Track Faculty
      • Teaching Faculty
      • Research Scientists
      • Faculty Emeriti
      • Faculty Affiliates
    • Research Associates & Postdocs
    • Staff
    • Graduate Students
    • Administration
    • Offices & Centers
    • Diversity & Inclusion
      • DEI Committee
    • Outreach
      • K-12 Educators
        • Biology Summer Institute
      • K-12 Students
        • Holland Summer Science Programs
          • Jim Holland Summer Enrichment Program in Biology (SEP)
          • Jim Holland Summer Science Research Program (SSRP)
          • Jim Holland Research Initiative in STEM Education (RISE)
      • Lessons
      • Outreach Activities
      • Outreach Coordinators
    • History
      • Faculty Emeriti
      • Historical Materials
    • About Bloomington
  • Undergraduate
    • Biology
      • Biology Learning Goals
      • Biology B.S.
        • Areas of Concentration
          • Biology of Disease
          • Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics
          • Integrative and Organismal Biology
      • Biology B.A.
      • Biology Minor
    • Biotechnology
      • Biotechnology Learning Goals
        • Biotechnology BS Learning Goals
        • Biotechnology BA Learning Goals
        • Biotechnology Minor Learning Goals
      • Program Design & Resources
      • Biotechnology B.S.
      • Biotechnology B.A.
      • Biotechnology B.S./M.S.
      • Biotechnology Minor
      • Demand and Employment Analysis
    • Microbiology
      • Microbiology B.S.
      • Microbiology B.A.
      • Microbiology Minor
    • Molecular Life Sciences
    • Research & Teaching Opportunities
      • Research Programs
      • Biology X490 Independent Study
      • Undergraduate Teaching Assistant
    • Honors Program
    • Advising
    • Awards & Scholarships
    • Student Experience
    • Graduate & Professional Program Preparation
    • Career Preparation
  • Graduate
    • Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Ph.D.
      • Steps to become EEB student
      • Curriculum
      • EEB Faculty
    • Genome, Cell, and Developmental Biology Ph.D.
      • Steps to become GCDB student
      • Curriculum
      • GCDB Faculty
    • Microbiology Ph.D.
      • Steps to become Microbiology student
      • Curriculum
      • Microbiology Faculty
    • Biotechnology M.S.
      • Program Plan + Curriculum
      • Financial Support
      • Biotechnology Faculty
    • Multidisciplinary & Affiliated Programs
    • Advising
    • Financial Support
    • Awards & Fellowships
    • Life Assistance
    • Career Preparation
    • Alumni Career Spotlights
    • How to Apply
  • Research
    • Research Faculty
    • Associated Research Faculty
    • Research Strengths
      • Behavior
      • Chromatin, chromosomes, and genome integrity
      • Developmental mechanisms and regulation in eukaryotic systems
      • Ecology
      • Eukaryotic cell biology, cytoskeleton, and signaling
      • Evolution
      • Genomics and bioinformatics
      • Microbial cell biology and environmental responses
      • Microbial interactions and pathogenesis
      • Plant molecular biology
      • Virology
    • Centers, Instrumentation, & Resources
      • Drosophila Research Resources
    • Faculty Awards
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events Calendar
    • Seminars
    • Named Lectures
      • Distinguished Alumni Award Lecture
      • James P. Holland Lecture Series
      • Carlos O. Miller Lecture Series
      • Hermann J. Muller Award Lecture Series
      • Norman R. Pace Lecture Series
      • Tracy M. Sonneborn Lecture Series
      • Joan Wood Lecture Series
    • Discussion Groups & Journal Clubs
    • Annual GCDB Retreat
    • Annual Microbiology Retreat
      • Micro-lympics
      • Registration
    • Newsletters
      • BioNews Fall 2022
      • BioNews Archive
  • Alumni & Giving
  • Contact
  • Student Portal
    • Undergraduate
      • Biology
        • Biology B.S.
        • Biology B.A.
        • Biology Minor
      • Biotechnology
        • Biotechnology B.S.
        • Biotechnology B.A.
        • Biotechnology B.S./M.S.
        • Biotechnology Minor
      • Microbiology
        • Microbiology B.S.
        • Microbiology B.A.
        • Microbiology Minor
      • Molecular Life Sciences
      • Courses
        • Biology Exemption Exams
        • Course Scheduling
        • Course Evaluations
        • Biology X490 Independent Study
        • FAQs
      • Advising
      • Research Opportunities
      • Teaching Assistants
      • Honors Program
        • Eligibility
        • Honors Courses
        • Honors Thesis
        • Honors Faculty Advisors
        • How to Apply
      • Internships
    • Graduate
      • Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Ph.D.
      • Genome, Cell, and Developmental Biology Ph.D.
      • Microbiology Ph.D.
      • Biotechnology M.S.
      • Multidisciplinary and Affiliated Programs
      • Courses
      • Transfer credits
      • Awards + funding
      • Financial Support
      • Teaching Support
      • Dissertation & Thesis Support
      • Services & Outreach
      • Submit News to Biology
      • Facilities & Resources
        • Computing Services
        • Constant Temperature Rooms
        • Dry Ice
        • Lactation Room
        • Room Reservations
          • All Rooms
          • Biology Bldg. 123
          • Biology Bldg. 248
          • Biology Bldg. A310
          • Biology Bldg. 422
          • Biology Bldg. 510
          • Myers Hall 115
          • Myers Hall 140
          • Myers Hall 209
          • Myers Hall 311
      • Student Academic Appointments
      • Bias incident reporting
      • Title IX incident reporting
    • Seminars
    • Ombudsperson
  • Donate

The College of Arts & Sciences