Stephan Uphoff

Our group investigates DNA repair and mutagenesis in bacteria. We seek to understand the mechanisms of DNA repair pathways and how mutation rates are regulated through DNA damage responses. Our goal is to directly measure these fundamental processes inside individual living cells. To this end, we develop single-molecule/super-resolution microscopy, single-cell manipulation, microfluidics, flow cytometry, and whole genome sequencing techniques. We also advance data analysis and computational modeling for quantitative descriptions of DNA repair and mutagenesis. We are currently very interested in the consequences of gene expression noise and stochastic processes on the fidelity of genome maintenance. This work also informs about the origins of mutations that lead to antibiotic resistance.