Donald R. Ronning
Assistant Professor
Email: Donald.Ronning@utoledo.edu
Office: WO 4203B
Phone: (419) 530-1585
Graphics: (419) 530-1591
Lab: (419) 530-1588
Fax: (419) 530-4033
Professional Background:
B.S., Biochemistry, 1995, University of Minnesota
Ph.D., 2001, Texas A&M University
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2001-2005, National Institutes of Health
Research Synopsis:
DNA recombination and Protein/DNA Interactions
The recombination of DNA plays an important role in bacterial survival. One example is the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes between species of bacteria. Our focus is to understand the mechanism of these systems at the molecular level using a combination of techniques that include structural determination of protein/DNA complexes representing intermediates along the pathways of DNA recombination using X-ray crystallography.
Host/Pathogen Interactions
All pathogenic organisms need to interact with a host cell to promote infection. Typically this occurs via protein-protein interactions and can offer advantages to the pathogen such as cell adhesion/fusion, suppression/evasion of the immune system, or modification of signaling pathways within host cells. We are studying systems that encompass all 3 of these mechanisms.