Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Biology & Biomedical Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, MO
B.S., Biochemistry, Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA
Dr. Haeusser is a Microbiologist with a graduate background in Molecular Cell Biology and an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry. At Canisius he has taught Introductory Biology I (Bio 111), Biochemistry & Cellular Biology I & II (Bio 211 & 212), Microbiology (Bio 307), Medical Microbiology and its Ecological Basis (Bio 305), and related labs. Within the Honors Program he has taught Biology in Fiction and Film (Hon 351).
Research in the Haeusser Lab focuses on bacterial cell division, particularly on factors expressed by viruses (bacteriophage) that infect cells and alter host shape or cytokinesis. As an essential and conserved process, bacterial cell division is an attractive target for novel antibiotic development.
Student research projects in the Haeusser Lab allow mentoring in genetics, microscopy, and biochemical techniques in the context of basic microbiology research with potential medical or environmental applications. Outside of ‘wet lab’ experiences, students may work with Dr. Haeusser in science communication through the American Society for Microbiology blog Small Things Considered (see link below), or in research on the inclusion of microbiology in literature and media (e.g. science fiction).
Awards
- American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Leaders Inspiring Networks and Knowledge (LINK) Undergraduate Faculty Research Initiative (UFRI) Fellowship
Publications
Bhambhani, Iadicicco, Lee, Ahmed, Belfatto, Held, Marconi, Parks, Stewart, Margolin, Levin, and Haeusser (2020) Bacteriophage SP01 Gene Product 56 (gp56) Inhibits Bacillus subtilis Cell Division by Interacting with DivIC/FtsL to Prevent Pbp2B/FtsW Recruitment. BioRxiv Preprint, in peer review for resubmission.
Haeusser (2018) Bacteriophage Diversity: Schemes of Replication and Structures Splendidly Conceived. BioSci 68 (5): 381 – 3.
Haeusser and Margolin (2016) Splitsville: Structural and functional insights into the dynamic bacterial Z ring. Nat Rev Microbiol. 14 (5): 305-19.
Haeusser, Rowlett, and Margolin (2015) A mutation in Escherichia coli ftsZ bypasses the requirement for the essential division gene zipA and confers resistance to FtsZ assembly inhibitors by stabilizing protofilament bundling. Mol Microbiol. 97 (5): 988-1005.
Haeusser et al. (2015) The Kil peptide of bacteriophage λ blocks Escherichia coli cytokinesis via ZipA-dependent inhibition of FtsZ assembly. PLoS Genet. 10 (3): e1004217.