Dr Joseph Sallmen

Joe is interested in understanding how bacteria grow and divide.

In nature, bacterial species have developed different ways to fill specific roles in the environment. To do this, they often employ different styles of growth and dispersal to meet their needs, but often share common features across closely and distantly related species.

Understanding how bacteria grow and divide can help shed light on ways we can use and manipulate bacteria to our own ends.

Currently, Joe is using a combination of cell biology and molecular genetics to understand the mechanisms behind cell division in the Streptomyces venezulae and Mycobacterium smegmatis.