lab photo

Apollo Stacy

Graduate Research Assistant

apollo

Research Interests

I am interested in polymicrobial interactions and the consequences they have on bacterial fitness. As a model I use the oral commensal Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa), which cohabits the oral cavity with many other bacterial species. To survive, these bacteria both compete and cooperate for limited space and nutrients. I am employing a systems approach known as Transposon-sequencing (Tn-seq) to discover polymicrobial interactions that impact Aa’s fitness. Tn-seq will allow me to comprehensively define all genomic loci important for growth with other oral community members.

About Apollo

I grew up in the booming metropolis of Jonesboro, Arkansas, where I spent much of my time in a back office of my parents’ Chinese restaurant business, the world famous Dragon & Phoenix. Growing up I often participated in spelling bees and could usually be found playing my saxophone, if not watching old VHS recordings of Jeopardy!. I left this paradise to attend college at Washington University in St. Louis where I received degrees in Biology and Earth & Planetary Sciences, and I began my graduate studies at UT-Austin in 2010.

Publications

Stacy, A., McNally, L., Darch, S.E., Brown, S.P., Whiteley M. (2015). The biogoegraphy of infection. Nat Rev Microbiol. In preparation.

Stacy, A., Everett, J., Jorth, P., Trivedi, U., Rumbaugh, K.P., Whiteley, M. (2014). Bacterial fight-and-flight responses enhance virulence in a polymicrobial infection. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 111(21): 7819-7824.

Murray, J.L., Connell, J.C., Stacy, A., Turner, K.H., Whiteley, M. (2014). Mechanisms of synergy in polymicrobial infections. J Microbiol. 52(3), 188-199.

Youle, M., Rohwer, F., Stacy, A., Whiteley, M., Steel, B.C., Delalez, N.J., Nord, A.L., Berry, R.M., Armitage, J.P., Kamoun, S., Hogenhout, S., Diggle, S.P., Gurney, J., Pollitt, E.J.G., Boetius, A., & Cary, S.C. (2012). The Microbial Olympics. Nat Rev Micro. 10, 583-588.

Stacy, A.R., Diggle, S.P., Whiteley, M. (2012). Rules of engagement: defining bacterial communication. Curr Opin Micro. 15(2), 155-161.

Presentations

Meeting: 1st ASM Conference on Polymicrobial Infections, Washington D.C., November 14, 2014
Oral presentation: "Bacterial fight-and-flight responses enhance virulence in a polymicrobial infection"
Author: Stacy, A.1, Everett, J.2, Jorth, P.1, Trivedi, U.2, Rumbaugh, K.P.2, Whiteley, M.2
University Affiliation: (1) Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, TX, (2) Department of Surgery, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX

Meeting: 5th ASM Conference on Cell-Cell Communication in Bacteria, San Antonio, TX, October, 2014
Poster presentation: "Bacterial fight-and-flight responses enhance virulence in a polymicrobial infection"
Author: Stacy, A.1, Everett, J.2, Jorth, P.1, Trivedi, U.2, Rumbaugh, K.P.2, Whiteley, M.2
University Affiliation: (1) Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, TX, (2) Department of Surgery, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX

Meeting: International Pasteurellaceae Conference, Prato, Italy, May 14, 2014
Oral Presentation: “Bacterial fight-and-flight responses enhance virulence in a polymicrobial infection”
Author: Stacy, A.1, Everett, J.2, Jorth, P.1, Trivedi, U.2, Rumbaugh, K.P.2, Whiteley, M.2
University Affiliation: (1) Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, TX, (2) Department of Surgery, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX

Meeting: Biofilms 6, Vienna, Austria, May 12, 2014
Oral Presentation: “Bacterial fight-and-flight responses enhance virulence in a polymicrobial infection”
Author: Stacy, A.1, Everett, J.2, Jorth, P.1, Trivedi, U.2, Rumbaugh, K.P.2, Whiteley, M.2
University Affiliation: (1) Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, TX, (2) Department of Surgery, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX

Meeting: Molecular Biosciences Department Retreat, Austin, Texas, April 19, 2014
Oral Presentation: “Bacterial fight-and-flight responses enhance virulence in a polymicrobial infection”
Author: Stacy, A.1, Everett, J.2, Jorth, P.1, Trivedi, U.2, Rumbaugh, K.P.2, Whiteley, M.2
University Affiliation: (1) Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, TX, (2) Department of Surgery, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX

Meeting: Big Data in Biology Symposium, Austin, Texas, May 10, 2013
Poster Presentation: “Transposon-sequencing of a periodontal pathogen”
Author: Stacy, A.1, Trivedi, U.2, Rumbaugh, K.P.2, Whiteley, M.2
University Affiliation: (1) School of Biological Sciences, Section of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Texas at Austin, TX, (2) Department of Surgery, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX

Meeting: Texas Science and Engineering Festival, Austin, Texas, November 5, 2011.
Oral Presentation: “Oral Bacteria: Living in a Community”
Author: Stacy, A. & Whiteley, M.
University Affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Section of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Texas at Austin, TX

Awards

2015-Oliver Memorial Award for Genetic Research, The University of Texas at Austin

2014 - present--Ruth L. Kirchstein National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship, National Institutes of Health

2014-ASM Student Travel Grant to the 1st ASM Conference on Polymicrobial Infections

2014-Scholarship to the Microbial Diversity course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA

2014-Student Award for Best Oral Presentation at the 2014 International Pasteurellaceae Conference

2014-Travel Award from the A.P. Bradie Endowed Fellowship, The University of Texas at Austin

2014-Graduate Student Professional Development Award, The University of Texas at Austin

2014-Best Graduate Presentation at the 2014 Department of Molecular Biosciences Retreat, Third Place

2009-Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Washington University in St. Louis.