Shaeri Mukherjee, PhD

Professor
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
The George William Hooper Foundation
+1 415 476-2826
Research Overview: 

Within the realm of bacterial pathogens, only a few have mastered the art of an intracellular life cycle. While the study of these pathogens has advanced our ability to treat them, it has also profoundly advanced our understanding of basic cell biological processes in an uninfected context. The study of how Listeria monocytogenes shoots around in its host cells, for example, lead to the discovery of the Arp2/3 complex, a critical actin nucleator. Similarly, the study of other intracellular bacterial pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosisSalmonella typhi, Legionella pneumophila, and Yersinia pestis, has — and continues to — yield fascinating insights into basic mammalian cell-biological processes.

In the Mukherjee lab, our intracellular bacterial pathogen of choice is Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease. Legionella pneumophila employs an impressive arsenal of over 300 secreted effectors to subvert and manipulate almost every fundamental eukaryotic cell biological process. For this reason, our research is very much at the crossroads of mammalian cell biology and Legionella pathogenesis. Learn more about our active research projects on our Research page and feel free to contact us with any questions. 

Primary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Bacterial manipulation of host membrane transport pathways
Mentorship Development: 

4/12/19  Acknowleding and Negotiating the Mentee-Mentor Tensions Inherent in the Research Lab (Parnassus)

Websites

Publications: 

Cross-family small GTPase ubiquitination by the intracellular pathogen Legionella pneumophila.

Molecular biology of the cell

Steinbach A, Bhadkamkar V, Jimenez-Morales D, Stevenson E, Jang GM, Krogan NJ, Swaney DL, Mukherjee S

A Legionella toxin exhibits tRNA mimicry and glycosyl transferase activity to target the translation machinery and trigger a ribotoxic stress response.

Nature cell biology

Subramanian A, Wang L, Moss T, Voorhies M, Sangwan S, Stevenson E, Pulido EH, Kwok S, Chalkley RJ, Li KH, Krogan NJ, Swaney DL, Burlingame AL, Floor SN, Sil A, Walter P, Mukherjee S

Cross-family small GTPase ubiquitination by the intracellular pathogen Legionella pneumophila.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology

Steinbach AM, Bhadkamkar VL, Jimenez-Morales D, Stevenson E, Jang GM, Krogan NJ, Swaney DL, Mukherjee S

A conserved megaprotein-based molecular bridge critical for lipid trafficking and cold resilience.

Nature communications

Wang C, Wang B, Pandey T, Long Y, Zhang J, Oh F, Sima J, Guo R, Liu Y, Zhang C, Mukherjee S, Bassik M, Lin W, Deng H, Vale G, McDonald JG, Shen K, Ma DK