Bettina Buttaro, PhD

Research Interests

Dr. Buttaro’s multi-disciplinary laboratory works in collaboration with mathematicians (Drs. Klapper and Queisser) and an engineer (Dr. Picone) to understand how structural arrangements of bacterial biofilms influence their biological behavior. There are three ongoing research projects. (1) Determining how pheromone responsive plasmids remodel commensal Enterococcus faecalis biofilms to produce heterologous rigid structures in their otherwise viscous biofilms and determining if these structures increase Enterococcal virulence. (2) Determining if flow around heterologous rigid structures creates new microenvironments behind the structures which protect microbiota from antibiotic killing and organize cooperative bacterial metabolism. Using Gram-positive E. faecalis and Gram-negative E. coli as models (Dr. Tükel), this may lead to a better understanding of the metabolic organization of complex microbiota communities and their ability to survive in the presence of antibiotics. (3) With the aid of the national park service, modeling how bacterial biofilm communities are organized to grow on marble monuments.

Dr. Buttaro is active in medical education as a core basic science educator and the director of the Microbiology and Infectious Disease Thread. The thread spans the first two years of medical education and focuses on the contributions of microorganisms to both health (microbiome) and infectious disease (pathogens. in collaboration with TUH ID Section). In addition, Dr. Buttaro teaches basic bacteriology, microbiota, and Gram-positive pathogens across multiple other programs on the Health Science Campus.

Educational Background

• Fellowship, Alexander von Humboldt, Universtät Ulm, Germany
• PhD, University of Minnesota

Digital Bibliography

View PubMed Publications

View Publications Previously Published as Leonard