Boo Shan Tseng (Life Sciences) was awarded a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation pilot grant, entitled "Suppressors of mucA essentiality in Pseudomonas aeruginosa." She, with her team of undergraduate and graduate students, will use this two-year, $107,290 award to study why the gene mucA, is required for bacteria to survive. This bacterial gene is important in infection, as mutations of this gene is strongly correlated with death of cystic fibrosis patients chronically infected with this pathogen. Understanding the role of this gene in bacterial survival may ultimately lead to the development of novel antibacterial agents to treat P. aeruginosa infections.