Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a significant public health and financial burden in the United States. In 2021, gonococcal infection impacted over 700,000 people and resulted in over $270 million spent in direct medical costs.
As the gonococcus rapidly acquires and maintains antimicrobial resistance genes, the number of antibiotics which effectively cure the infection dwindles drastically. Subsequently, the need for new therapeutics and vaccines has become urgent.
The aim of my research is to identify and characterize the mechanism by which the zinc uptake regulator (Zur) in N. gonorrhoeae sense zinc and manganese limitation and mounts a metal-regulated response to nutritional immunity thereby promoting gonococcal pathogenesis. Future studies will identify Zur’s potential as a novel therapeutic target.