Alexis Branch, Ph.D.
Pharmacology
Education
Georgia State University
Mentors
Robert Nicholas, Ph.D.
Biography
I earned my PhD in Translational Biomedical Sciences from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University (GSU). My dissertation work focused on the physiology and pathogenesis of the antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) pathogen, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, in the context of host-imposed metal limitation and metal overload. Specifically, I found that metal-dependent regulation of gonococcal virulence factors is both strain-specific and metal-specific. While at GSU, I mentored undergraduate and graduate students and served as a teaching assistant for courses like Careers in Biomedical Science and Principles of Biology (lab). My experience teaching helped me earn the Certificate of Excellence in College Teaching from the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Online Education (CETLOE) at GSU. My postdoctoral research focuses on the immune-inhibitory effect of the gonococcal virulence factor, porin. This effect is an obstacle to acquired immunity and urgently needed vaccine development.