Thursday, December 11, 2025
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Foege South Auditorium & Zoom Webinar

Phage transcription factors that silence CRISPR-Cas immunity

Biography

Dr. Meeske earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Connecticut. He then conducted his PhD studies with Dr. David Rudner at Harvard Medical School, where he studied the processes by which bacteria construct their protective envelope (the cell wall). He went on to do postdoctoral work with Dr. Luciano Marraffini at The Rockefeller University, where he investigated the complex immune systems used by bacteria to protect themselves from viruses. One of these immune systems, called CRISPR, has been exploited for precise and programmable DNA editing in a wide range of organisms – an approach with curative potential for many genetic diseases. At UW, Dr. Meeske’s group has continued to explore the functions of bacterial immune systems, how viruses have evolved to overcome them, and how we can leverage these processes to develop new biotechnology tools. His Science in Medicine Lecture will cover the diverse molecular mechanisms by which Listeria phages inhibit CRISPR immunity.