Deborah Powers

Background

About Deborah Powers

After I completed my B.S. in Chemistry with a Specialization in Biochemistry at the University of Virginia, I continued on to pursue a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Virginia. Here, I use a computational systems biology approach to investigate how metabolism drives and influences toxin synthesis and regulation in clinically relevant pathogens, such as Clostridioides difficile. To accomplish this, I use in-silico methods such as genome-scale metabolic modeling and gene regulatory networks to investigate high level interactions between systems. Additionally, I use in-vitro methods with clinical isolates, co-cultures, PCR, and genome sequencing to further investigate how different environmental nutrition sources are metabolized and how changing energy sources influence toxin synthesis. Following completion of my PhD, I would like to continue using computational methods to solve problems and answer questions about science, either in a research and development or in a consulting capacity.