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Katie Ballering, PhD

Dr. Ballering is a project associate for the CIDRAP Comprehensive Influenza Vaccine Initiative (CCIVI). Dr. Ballering graduated in 2004 with a BS in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She completed undergraduate research projects focused on both Xenorhabdus nematophilus with Dr. Heidi Goodrich-Blair and Agrobacterium tumefaciens with Dr. Michael Thomas, and her thesis work involved identifying a novel siderophore biosynthetic gene cluster in the plant pathogen A tumefaciens.

Dr. Ballering received her PhD from the Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology graduate program in 2010 at the University of Minnesota in the laboratory of Dr. Gary Dunny. Her thesis work focused on bacterial genetics, specifically understanding the genetic components of biofilm formation in the nosocomial pathogen Enterococcus faecalis. This work contributed to the understanding of the kinetics of biofilm formation in E faecalis and revealed a dramatic temporal change in the appearance and biochemical composition of the extracellular matrix that had not been previously reported. She was also able to use a large genetic screen to identify more than 68 potential determinants of enterococcal biofilm formation. This, in conjunction with another genetic screen from the Dunny lab, constitutes the first comprehensive examination of the core genome of E faecalis for genetic determinants of biofilm formation. From this genetic screen Dr. Ballering identified and characterized a novel biofilm transcription factor, Enterococcal Biofilm Regulator (EbrA). She determined that EbrA is responsible for modulating the metabolic rate to promote survival of the enterococcal biofilm population when it undergoes nutrient stress. These experiments suggest that EbrA is also a negative regulator extracellular DNA (eDNA) release into the biofilm matrix.