Erin Goley, PhD
Highlights
Languages
- English
Gender
FemaleJohns Hopkins Affiliations:
- Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty
About Erin Goley
Primary Academic Title
Professor of Biological Chemistry
Background
Dr. Erin Goley is a Professor of Biological Chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, with a joint appointment in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology in the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Goley’s research focuses on bacterial cell biology, with an emphasis on the molecular mechanisms governing growth and cell division. Her work identifies the mechanisms bacteria use to replicate and to withstand stress, which may inform development of new antibiotic therapies.
Dr. Goley received her undergraduate degree summa cum laude in biochemistry and mathematics from Hood College. She earned her Ph.D. in molecular and cell biology from the University of California at Berkeley, where she studied the regulation of actin nucleation with Matt Welch. She completed postdoctoral training in bacterial cell biology with Lucy Shapiro at Stanford University in 2011. Dr. Goley joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2011.
Dr. Goley is a member of the American Society for Cell Biology, the American Society for Microbiology, and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Goley received an Innovation Award from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Discovery Fund, was the recipient of the 2020 Lee Hood Prize in Biomedical Science, was named an Inaugural Randall Reed Scholar and was selected as a Fellow of the American Society for Cell Biology. She was a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.
Centers and Institutes
Recent News Articles and Media Coverage
Q&A with Dr. Goley in Current Biology 2021, ScienceDirect (March 2021)
Erin Goley: Catching the bug for studying the cytoskeleton, Journal of Cell Biology (2017)
Contact for Research Inquiries
725 N Wolfe St
Baltimore, MD 21205
Research Interests
Antibiotics, Bacterial Cell Biology, Cytokinesis, Cytoskeleton, Morphogenesis, Stress Responses
Lab Website
Goley Lab - Lab Website
Research Summary
In the Goley laboratory, we take an interdisciplinary approach to study the fundamental mechanisms by which bacteria grow, divide, and adapt to changing growth conditions. We use the dimorphic α-proteobacterium Caulobacter crescentus as one model for these studies, as its curved-rod morphology and well-characterized cell and developmental cycle make it particularly well-suited to address questions of morphogenesis and growth control. We recently initiated studies into a second α-proteobacterium - the obligate intracellular, tick-borne human pathogen Rickettsia parkeri - to investigate the cell biology of the enigmatic Rickettsiales. With their distinct lifestyles and physiology, Caulobacter and Rickettsia present complementary models to understand the diversity of growth and adaptation mechanisms among the α-proteobacteria.
We use a multi-pronged approach combining genetics, genomics, imaging, biochemistry, and in vitro reconstitution to understand the cell biology and adaptation mechanisms of these organisms. We are highly collaborative and love to work with specialists in advanced imaging techniques, new analytical approaches and tools, structural biology, and complementary model organisms. Our fundamental research into essential aspects of bacterial physiology will inform antibiotic development and resistance mechanisms, as well as synthetic cell biology efforts. Currently, we are investigating molecular mechanisms by which bacterial growth is regulated at both a global (e.g. during stress) and a local (e.g. at the division site during cytokinesis) level.
Selected Publications
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Daitch AK, Smith EL, and Goley ED. OpgH is an essential regulator of Caulobacter morphology. mBio. 2024. e0144324.
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Barrows JM, Talavera-Figueroa BK, Payne IP, Smith EL, and Goley ED. GTPase activity regulates FtsZ ring positioning in Caulobacter crescentus. Mol Biol Cell. 2024. 17:mbcE23090365.
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Smith EL, Panis G, Woldemeskel SA, Viollier PH, Chien P, and Goley ED. Regulation of the transcription factor CdnL promotes adaptation to nutrient stress in Caulobacter. PNAS Nexus. 2024. 3:pgae154.
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Mahone CR, Payne IP, Lyu Z, McCausland JW, Barrows JM, Xiao J, Yang X, Goley ED. Integration of cell wall synthesis activation and chromosome segregation during cell division in Caulobacter. J Cell Biol. 2024. 223:e202211026.
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Figueroa-Cuilan WM, Irazoki O, Feeley M, Smith E, Nguyen T, Cava F, Goley ED. Quantitative analysis of morphogenesis and growth dynamics in an obligate intracellular bacterium. Mol Biol Cell. 2023 34(7):ar69.
Honors
- Randall Reed Scholar, Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1/1/24
- Fellow, American Society for Cell Biology, 12/5/23
- Lee Hood Prize in Biomedical Science, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 6/1/20
- Catalyst Award, Johns Hopkins University, 7/1/17
- Innovation Award, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Discovery Fund, 7/1/15
- Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, 7/1/07
- Graduate Research Fellow, National Science Foundation, 7/1/01
Graduate Program Affiliations
Graduate Program in Biological Chemistry
Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Cell, and Molecular Biology
Memberships
- The American Society for Cell Biology
- The American Society for Microbiology
- The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Professional Activities
- American Society for Cell Biology, ASCB Council, 1/1/21 - 12/31/23
- BCMB Graduate Admissions Committee, Member, 11/1/14 - 7/1/18
- BCMB Graduate Program, Director of Admissions, 7/1/18 - 6/31/24
- BCMB Graduate Program Retreat, Co-organizer, 7/1/13 - 11/1/18
- MRAF Standing Study Section, Chair, 1/1/23 - 12/31/25
- MSTP/MD-PhD Committee, Member, 9/1/15 - 8/31/18
- Scientific Reports, Editorial Board Member, 4/15/15 - 5/1/17
Additional Training
Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 2011, Bacterial Cell Biology