University Scholar Michael Federle
The University Scholars Program, sponsored by the Office of the President, honors faculty members for superior research and teaching, along with great promise for future achievements. The award provides $15,000 a year for three years to enhance their scholarly activities.
Michael Federle
Professor, Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy
UIC Retzky College of Pharmacy
Years at UIC: 17
What themes or questions drive your research?
Since starting my independent lab at UIC in May of 2008, I’ve been largely interested in how microbial pathogens use social interactions to coordinate behaviors and cooperate with one another to enhance their survival and cause disease in host organisms. We have discovered several chemical languages of bacteria that coordinate processes used, for example, to steal genes from other bacteria, to defend themselves from or attack others with enzymatic and chemical assaults and to manipulate human immune system function. By studying these communication networks at molecular, cellular and organismal levels, we are developing means to interfere with signaling in hopes of developing therapeutics to treat infections. Even more satisfying than laboratory discoveries is having the opportunity to work alongside talented and motivated students and share experiences in their career development.
What sparked your interest in these research areas?
I have always been fascinated with the abilities of bacteria to overcome any challenge, including adapting to extreme conditions or assaults. This can be seen in clinical settings where antibiotic-resistant bacteria are emerging at alarming rates. My field has come to appreciate that bacteria, which are single-cell entities, have the ability to cooperate with each other to enhance their fitness and adapt to stressful conditions.
What courses do you teach, and are there topics you particularly enjoy teaching?
I teach in several graduate and professional courses associated with the colleges of pharmacy and medicine. These include lectures on microbial pathogenesis, gene regulation, antibiotic discovery and mechanisms of action, and immune and inflammatory responses to infection.
What strategies help you balance teaching and research?
Research has always been my passion and priority, but I learned rather late in my career that teaching is one of the best ways to stay at the forefront of current topics and the latest technologies. By teaching topics that are outside my area of expertise, I have improved my ability to design experiments and write grant applications.
What advice would you give to students interested in research careers?
I believe strongly that maintaining a sense of awe in the process of discovery — which often requires the integration of creative thought applied to new concepts or technologies — can sustain excitement and motivation in a career of research. But often it is daily persistence, stubbornness and hard work that is needed to obtain success.
