Nancy A. Moran

Research

As a molecular microbiologist, I’m broadly interested in both studying and engineering biological systems involving bacteria. Currently, I’m developing molecular tools for use in engineering symbionts of honey bees. The hope is that these tools will be beneficial both in basic science research and real world applications, allowing for more robust study of bee genetics and protection against pathogens. I’m also interested in studying the interaction between honey bees and their bacterial symbionts at a molecular scale.

education

• Ph.D., Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (PI: Erin Goley), 2019
• B.A., Biochemistry, Bowdoin College (PI: Bruce Kohorn), 2013

professional experience

• Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Texas at Austin (PIs: Nancy Moran and Jeff Barrick), 2021-Present
• Scientist, Flagship Pioneering (FL72), 2020-2021
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, Northeastern University (PI: Kim Lewis), 2019-2020

FELLOWSHIPS

• USDA NIFA Postdoctoral Fellowship, Engineering bacteria to combat bee pathogens, March 2023 - February 2025

Publications

Lariviere, P.J., Leonard, S.P., Horak, R.D., Powell, J.E., Barrick, J.E. Honey bee functional genomics using symbiont-mediated RNAi. Nature Protocols (2023).

Lariviere, P.J., Mahone, C.R., Santiago-Collazo, G., Howell, M., Daitch, A.K., Zeinert, R., Chien, P., Brown, P.J.B., Goley, E.D. Activation of SEDS-PBP cell wall synthases by an essential regulator of bacterial division. Current Biology (2019).

Howell, M., Aliashkevich, A., Sundararajan, K., Daniel, J.J., Lariviere, P.J., Cava, F., Goley, E.D., Brown, P.J.B. Agrobacterium tumefaciens divisome proteins regulate the transition from polar growth to cell division. Mol. Microbiol (2019).

Lariviere, P.J., Goley, E. D. Cell division in Caulobacter crescentus: A molecular-scale model. (Book chapter; Manuscript in preparation).

Lariviere, P.J., Szwedziak, P., Mahone, C.R., Löwe, J., Goley, E.D. FzlA, an essential regulator of FtsZ filament curvature, controls constriction rate during Caulobacter division. Mol. Microbiol. 107, 180–197 (2018).

Lariviere, P. J. and Kohorn, Bruce. Identification of MPKs involved in the wall associated kinase regulated stress response in Arabidopsis thaliana. (2013). (Undergraduate Honors Thesis).

Sharma, A.K., Bury, M.I., Fuller, N.J., Rozkiewicz, D.I., Hota, P.V., Kollhoff, D.M., Webber, M.J., Tapaskar, N., Meisner, J.W., Lariviere, P.J., DeStefano, S., Wang, D., Ameer, G.A. , Cheng, E.Y. Growth factor release from a chemically modified elastomeric poly(1,8-octanediol-co-citrate) thin film promotes angiogenesis in vivo. J Biomed Mater Res Part A. 100A:561–570. (2012).

patents

Lewis, K., Miller, R., Iinishi, A., Lariviere, P., and Curtis, T. Novel antibiotics acting against Gram negative pathogens. U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.: 63/118,254. (2020).