Rate My Professor Ryan Hunter

Hunter's work has elucidated how anaerobic commensal microbes, such as Prevotella, Fusobacterium, Streptococcus, and Veillonella species, degrade mucins to produce short-chain fatty acids like propionate and butyrate, as well as amino acids, which inefficiently metabolized pathogens like Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus exploit for growth and virulence. This research defines a critical role for commensals in cystic fibrosis airway disease and chronic sinusitis. Key publications include 'Commensal-derived short-chain fatty acids disrupt lipid membrane homeostasis in Staphylococcus aureus' (mBio, 2025), 'Host- and microbial-mediated mucin degradation differentially shape Pseudomonas aeruginosa physiology and gene expression' (PLoS Pathogens, 2025), 'Dual oxic-anoxic co-culture enables direct study of anaerobe-host interactions at the airway epithelial interface' (mBio, 2025), and 'Community ecology: the framework for next steps in microbiome research in chronic airway disease' (European Respiratory Journal, 2025). Hunter has received the K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the NIH/NHLBI (2012), Most Engaging Professor, Upper Division (2019), Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor (2016), and Clinical and Translational Science Institute Mentor of the Year Honorable Mention (2016). He serves as principal investigator on active grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.