Rate My Professor Robert Fagerlund

Dr. Robert Fagerlund serves as a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Health Sciences Division, at the University of Otago. He holds a PhD and is affiliated with the Fineran Lab, where his research centers on phage-host interactions, bacterial defense systems, and CRISPR-Cas mechanisms. His investigations delve into the molecular underpinnings of phage resistance, including spacer capture and integration processes, anti-CRISPR gene regulation, and the biotechnological potential of these systems for applications such as rapid diagnostics and antimicrobial therapies targeting pathogens like Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae.

Fagerlund's scholarly contributions span structural biology of cyanobacterial photosystems and advanced CRISPR research, amassing over 2,442 citations according to Google Scholar. Key publications include 'CRISPR-Cas: adapting to change' (Science, 2017, cited by 529), 'Spacer capture and integration by a type I-F Cas1–Cas2-3 CRISPR adaptation complex' (PNAS, 2017, cited by 132), 'Discovery of multiple anti-CRISPRs highlights anti-defense gene clustering in mobile genetic elements' (Nature Communications, 2020, cited by 175), 'The extrinsic proteins of Photosystem II' (Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Bioenergetics, 2012, cited by 363), and 'The lipoproteins of cyanobacterial photosystem II' (Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, 2011, cited by 67). Recent works feature 'Engineering an antimicrobial chimeric endolysin that targets the phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae' (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2025) and 'Repurposing an endogenous CRISPR-Cas system to generate and study subtle mutations in bacteriophages' (CRISPR Journal, 2024). In 2017, he was awarded a Marsden Fund Fast-Start grant for $300,000 to study CRISPR-Cas immunity in cyanobacteria. His findings have advanced knowledge of prokaryotic antiviral defenses and phage engineering, influencing fields from molecular microbiology to synthetic biology.