Rate My Professor F Outten

Outten's research centers on microbial metal metabolism, bioinorganic chemistry, microbial physiology, and microbial genetics, with a focus on the biochemical mechanisms of Fe-S cluster assembly, transition metal acquisition, trafficking, storage systems, and their regulation during environmental stresses such as iron starvation and oxidative stress. His laboratory employs Escherichia coli as a model organism to study the Suf pathway for Fe-S cluster biogenesis under harsh conditions. He has received the Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar Award (2008-2010), Pharmacology Research Associate (PRAT) Postdoctoral Fellowship (2002-2004), and Ada B. Thomas Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award (2012). Key publications include "Direct observation of intermediates in the SufS cysteine desulfurase reaction reveals functional roles of conserved active-site residues" (J. Biol. Chem., 2019, with M. Blahut et al.), "Nickel exposure reduces enterobactin production in Escherichia coli" (MicrobiologyOpen, 2019, with C.L. Washington-Hughes et al.), "A suf operon requirement for Fe-S cluster assembly during iron starvation in E. coli" (Mol. Microbiol., 2004), and "The SufE protein and the SufBCD complex enhance SufS cysteine desulfurase activity as part of a sulfur transfer pathway for Fe-S cluster assembly in E. coli" (J. Biol. Chem., 2003). Outten has secured sustained funding from the National Institutes of Health, including R01 GM081706 (2007-2012) and R01 GM112919 (2015-2024), as well as NSF grants.