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Faculty Detail    
Name JANET L YOTHER
  
Campus Address BBRB 734 Zip 2170
Phone  (205) 934-9531
E-mail  jyother@uab.edu
Other websites Publications via PubMed
     


Faculty Appointment(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Primary  Microbiology  Microbiology Professor
Center  Center for AIDS Research  Center for AIDS Research Professor
Center  Center for Biophysical Sciences/Engineering  Center for Biophysical Sciences/Engineering Professor
Center  Comprehensive Diabetes Center  Comprehensive Diabetes Center Professor
Center  Ctr for Clinical & Translational Sci  Ctr for Clinical & Translational Sci Professor

Graduate Biomedical Sciences Affiliations
Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics 
Immunology 
Medical Scientist Training Program 
Microbiology 

Biographical Sketch 
Janet Yother, Professor of Microbiology, completed her undergraduate studies in biology at UAB (B.S., 1980) while pursuing research in the area of microbial physiology and ecology. She attended UAB and the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences at Memphis for graduate work (Ph.D., Microbiology, 1985), studying the genetics of Yersinia pestis virulence determinants. She returned to UAB for postdoctoral studies concerning the genetics of Streptococcus pneumoniae and joined the faculty in 1991.

Society Memberships
Organization Name Position Held Org Link
American Society for Microbiology     
 



Research/Clinical Interest
Title
Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular polysaccharides, genetics, and pathogenesis
Description
Many bacteria elaborate capsular polysaccharides that serve to protect against environmental insults. As a paradigm for characterizing the mechanisms of capsule synthesis and regulation in bacteria, we study the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is a major cause of pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, sinusitis, and otitis media. Young children, the elderly, and those with chronic underlying disorders such as heart disease, certain malignancies, sickle cell anemia, and diabetes are particularly susceptible to pneumococcal infections. The capsule of S. pneumoniae protects the bacterium from host defenses and it is the basis for vaccines against this organism. Our work focuses on the genetics of capsule expression, the biochemical mechanisms of capsule synthesis, and the virulence properties associated with capsule production. Additionally, we study the regulation of multiple other virulence factors that are co-regulated with capsule and whose expression is influenced by factors found in different host niches in which the bacterium resides.

Selected Publications 
Publication PUBMEDID
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Keywords
bacteria, genetics, pathogenesis, capsules, regulation