Location
Havener Center, Meramac Gasconade Room, 9:30am-11:30am
Start Date
4-1-2026 11:00 AM
End Date
4-1-2026 11:30 AM
Presentation Date
April 1, 2026; 11:00am-11:30am
Description
This project investigated the use of engineered bacterial reporter systems to detect cellular stress responses associated with antibiotic activity. While constructs were successfully introduced and tested against known antibiotics, the reporter consistently produced a blue signal across conditions, limiting the ability to distinguish specific stress responses. This suggests issues such as leaky expression, insufficient regulatory control, or lack of specificity in the reporter design. Although results were inconclusive, this work highlights key challenges in developing reliable biosensors and provides a foundation for future optimization. Improving signal specificity and reducing background expression will be critical for enabling accurate characterization of antibiotic mechanisms.
Biography
Drake O'Leary is a senior at Missouri University of Science and Technology pursuing a B.S. in Biological Sciences, a Chemistry minor, and certificates in Bioinnovation, Medicinal Chemistry, and Neuroscience. His research interests center on microbiology, molecular genetics, and cellular stress responses, particularly in microbial systems and host-associated environments. His work includes bacterial biosensor development using PCR-based cloning of stress-response promoters, plasmid isolation and sequence verification, and analysis of gene expression under antibiotic exposure. Contributions also extend to research investigating tumor microenvironment interactions in Yazdi Lab. Additional experience spans respirometry and fish genetics, along with participation in a Biodesign team focused on applied biological innovation, including an international competition in Taiwan. Outside the lab, Drake serves as President of HELIX and as an officer in Alpha Chi Sigma, where he has held multiple leadership roles. Following graduation this semester, he plans to pursue graduate study in the biological sciences.
Meeting Name
2026 - Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference
Department(s)
Biological Sciences
Second Department
Chemistry
Third Department
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Document Type
Presentation
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2026 The Authors, All rights reserved
Included in
Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering Commons, Biology Commons, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons
Biosensors for Biomedicine
Havener Center, Meramac Gasconade Room, 9:30am-11:30am
This project investigated the use of engineered bacterial reporter systems to detect cellular stress responses associated with antibiotic activity. While constructs were successfully introduced and tested against known antibiotics, the reporter consistently produced a blue signal across conditions, limiting the ability to distinguish specific stress responses. This suggests issues such as leaky expression, insufficient regulatory control, or lack of specificity in the reporter design. Although results were inconclusive, this work highlights key challenges in developing reliable biosensors and provides a foundation for future optimization. Improving signal specificity and reducing background expression will be critical for enabling accurate characterization of antibiotic mechanisms.
Comments
Advisor: David J. Westenberg, djwesten@mst.edu