Maria Vizcaino, PhD

Maria Vizcaino carried out her research at the Medical University of South Carolina with Peter D.R. Moeller and Pamela J. Morris at the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, SC.  At MUSC, Maria used a chemical ecology approach to better understand the chemical defense role of bacteria associated with Caribbean corals while searching for novel antimicrobial compounds.  Specifically, Maria characterized the bioactive potential of the culturable coral-associated bacteria by screening for the presence of biosynthetic gene clusters and their antimicrobial potential against both human and marine pathogens.  She then selected a Pseudovibrio sp. that demonstrated the broadest antimicrobial activity, and isolated and structurally characterized a novel peptide with specific antimicrobial activity against Vibrio species.  She received an NIH Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity Fellowship and an NIH NIAID Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award for her doctoral studies. Before joining the Crawford lab, Maria worked as a Natural Product Chemist/Analytical Chemist at Aphios Corporation, where she purified and crystallized Bryostatin-1 and analogues from a marine bryozoans extract.  Maria joined the lab in the Fall of 2012 and is currently working on identifying bacterial small molecules involved in regulating human-bacterial interactions.