Drs. Derbyshire and Gray have backgrounds in prokaryotic and human molecular biology respectively, and now we combine our expertise and enthusiasm in deciphering the molecular biology of mycobacteria. We use the genetically amenable Mycobacterium smegmatis as a model organism for our studies into gene expression, cell-cell-communication, protein secretion and conjugative transfer of chromosomal DNA. We use a combination of standard molecular genetic and genomic approaches, such as RNA-seq, ribo-seq and whole genome sequencing, to provide molecular insight into mechanism and genome architecture.

Join Our Laboratory!

We currently have research positions in the laboratory for a postdoctoral fellow and research technician. The current projects available may vary, but if you are interested in a specific research area we are happy to consider your preferences and suggestions! Please send your resume and a description of your research interests to Health Research Incorporated. 

Current Position

Assistant Research Scientist Derbyshire-Gray Laboratory JR-0001747

Applications due 9/3/25
Health Research, Inc. is seeking an Assistant Research Scientist to work within the Wadsworth Center, Division of Genetics. The Assistant Research Scientist will assist with research projects. The research explores mechanisms and principles of horizontal gene transfer and cell-cell communication in mycobacteria. The incumbent will be part of an interdisciplinary research team that combines microbial genetics, biochemistry, molecular and cell biology to understand how mycobacteria interact in populations and how those interactions induce specific responses. The project involves studies of horizontal gene transfer that drives mycobacterial evolution and higher-order activities of mycobacterial populations in culture and in infection. The incumbent will join a highly interactive and social laboratory that will further scientific training in state-of-the-art instruments, methods and analyses. Other opportunities for professional development include seminars, group discussions and presentations of findings to Wadsworth Center colleagues.

Cell-cell communication between mycobacteria, is a recent and novel discovery made by the laboratory, and the genes involved in the communication pathway are conserved in both pathogenic and environmental mycobacteria. The goal of this grant-funded research is to functionally characterize cell-cell communication and determine its role in the biology and pathogenesis of mycobacteria. [https://www.wadsworth.org/research/laboratories/derbyshire-gray].

This position will be part of a dynamic team serving the Wadsworth Center’s mission in the New York State Department of Health’s efforts to protect and promote the health of New York’s citizens. Come be a part of Science in the Pursuit of Health®!

 

For information on the expression of mycobacterial genes, please visit our Interactive genomics page. 

We thank the NIH and NSF for their research support.

Program Updates

AlphaFold image of predicted cell-surface kin-identifier protein

A $2.5 Million National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Grant Helps Elucidate Mycobacterial Cell-Cell Communication and the Evolution of Mycobacterial Pathogens

Before COVID most of us probably never thought about how the organisms that cause disease inherit their genetic material and how that impacts their ability to be “successful” pathogens.  Drs. Todd Gray and Keith Derbyshire at the Wadsworth Center have been thinking about this for a long time. 
American Association for the Advancement of Science Rosette. Photo credit AAAS. Used with permission.

Dr. Keith Derbyshire Named AAAS Fellow

Dr. Derbyshire joins the ranks of distinguished scientists recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) since 1874 - from Thomas Edison and Linus Pauling, to four of the 2018 Nobel Prize laureates. AAAS recognized Dr. Derbyshire “for distinguished contributions to the fields of molecular biology and microbial genetics, particularly in DNA exchange by transposition and conjugation in mycobacteria.”
Dr. Gray and Derbyshire Laboratories

New Study First to Describe Mycobacterial Cell - Cell Communication

For bacteria, sharing genetic information can be critical to survival. It can also make them fitter, better pathogens, and more able to evade the immune system and resist antibiotics. One way bacteria share their genetic information is by a process called conjugation, in which DNA is transferred from a donor to a recipient strain. Incorporation of the donor genetic information into the recipient chromosome can confer novel functions to the resulting transconjugant cells.
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