Hesper Rego, PhD
Associate Professor TermDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Microbial Pathogenesis
Primary
Contact Info
Microbial Pathogenesis
295 Congress Ave, BCMM 336D/337
New Haven, CT 06519
United States
About
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Associate Professor Term
Biography
Hesper trained as physicist in both her undergraduate studies (Caltech, B.S. Physics, 2005), and her graduate studies (UCSF, PhD, Biophysics, 2011). She did her graduate work with the late Mats Gustafsson at UCSF and Janelia Farm. In his group, she developed a nonlinear form of Structured-Illumination Microscopy. Afterwards, wanting to explore a biological phenomenon she did her postdoctoral work with Eric Rubin at the Harvard School of Public Health where she became fascinated by the ability of genetically identical organisms to display different phenotypes. This phenomenon is especially important for the treatment of tuberculosis, a disease caused by the bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. She is excited to start a research group at the intersection of these two areas: the application of advanced light microscopy techniques to investigate the strategies mycobacteria use to survive the stresses imposed by antibiotics and host.
Last Updated on August 10, 2024.
Appointments
Microbial Pathogenesis
Associate Professor on TermPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Harvard School of Public Health (2016)
- PhD
- University of California, San Francisco, Biophysics (2011)
- BS
- California Institute of Technology, Physics (2005)
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Bacteria; Cell Biology; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Single-Cell Analysis
ORCID
0000-0002-2973-8354- View Lab Website
Rego Lab
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Hesper Rego's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Hesper Rego's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Hesper Rego is interested in exploring.
Lin Shao, PhD
Chunyan Wang, PhD
Jun Liu, PhD
María Lara-Tejero, DVM, PhD
TuKiet Lam, PhD, BS
Weiwei (Wendy) Wang
23Publications
2,260Citations
Imaging, Three-Dimensional
Single-Cell Analysis
Publications
Featured Publications
An essential periplasmic protein coordinates lipid trafficking and is required for asymmetric polar growth in mycobacteria
Gupta K, Gwin C, Rahlwes K, Biegas K, Wang C, Park J, Liu J, Swarts B, Morita Y, Rego E. An essential periplasmic protein coordinates lipid trafficking and is required for asymmetric polar growth in mycobacteria. ELife 2022, 11: e80395. PMID: 36346214, PMCID: PMC9678360, DOI: 10.7554/elife.80395.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPeriplasmic proteinsPolar growthNew cell wall materialOld poleQuantitative time-lapse imagingAsymmetric polar growthCell wall synthesisCell envelope compositionCell wall materialTime-lapse imagingCellular asymmetryEssential proteinsBacterial geneticsEssential transporterSingle geneWall synthesisLipid traffickingPopulation of cellsPlasma membraneTMM transportUnknown functionBroad functionsMycolic acidsTrehalose monomycolateEnvelope compositionItaconate is an effector of a Rab GTPase cell-autonomous host defense pathway against Salmonella
Chen M, Sun H, Boot M, Shao L, Chang SJ, Wang W, Lam TT, Lara-Tejero M, Rego EH, Galán JE. Itaconate is an effector of a Rab GTPase cell-autonomous host defense pathway against Salmonella. Science 2020, 369: 450-455. PMID: 32703879, PMCID: PMC8020367, DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz1333.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsMaturing Mycobacterium smegmatis peptidoglycan requires non-canonical crosslinks to maintain shape
Baranowski C, Welsh M, Sham L, Eskandarian H, Lim H, Kieser K, Wagner J, McKinney J, Fantner G, Ioerger T, Walker S, Bernhardt T, Rubin E, Rego E. Maturing Mycobacterium smegmatis peptidoglycan requires non-canonical crosslinks to maintain shape. ELife 2018, 7: e37516. PMID: 30324906, PMCID: PMC6231781, DOI: 10.7554/elife.37516.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPenicillin-binding proteinsAsymmetric polar growthRod-shaped bacteriaPolar growthPolar elongationShape maintenanceCell wallGenetic relationshipsDrug targetsUnusual crosslinksD-transpeptidasesSingle cellsPeptidoglycanCellsCrosslinksProteinMycobacteriaBacteriaPathogensTypes of crosslinksElongationGrowthMaintenanceTargetDeletion of a mycobacterial divisome factor collapses single-cell phenotypic heterogeneity
Rego E, Audette R, Rubin E. Deletion of a mycobacterial divisome factor collapses single-cell phenotypic heterogeneity. Nature 2017, 546: 153-157. PMID: 28569798, PMCID: PMC5567998, DOI: 10.1038/nature22361.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsNonlinear structured-illumination microscopy with a photoswitchable protein reveals cellular structures at 50-nm resolution
Rego EH, Shao L, Macklin JJ, Winoto L, Johansson GA, Kamps-Hughes N, Davidson MW, Gustafsson MG. Nonlinear structured-illumination microscopy with a photoswitchable protein reveals cellular structures at 50-nm resolution. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2011, 109: e135-e143. PMID: 22160683, PMCID: PMC3271870, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1107547108.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsStructured-illumination microscopyUltralow light intensitiesSuperresolution imaging methodExcited statesFluorophore excited stateStructured illumination microscopyLight intensityRequired nonlinearityResolution extensionHigh light intensityActin cytoskeletonCellular structureReversible photoswitchingNuclear poresNonlinear responseIllumination intensitySuch nonlinear responsesPhotoswitchable proteinsSpatial resolutionFluorescent proteinBiological samplesSix-orderImaging methodMicroscopyPolystyrene beadsSuper-resolution 3D microscopy of live whole cells using structured illumination
Shao L, Kner P, Rego EH, Gustafsson MG. Super-resolution 3D microscopy of live whole cells using structured illumination. Nature Methods 2011, 8: 1044-1046. PMID: 22002026, DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1734.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricA nucleoid-associated protein is involved in the emergence of antibiotic resistance by promoting the frequent exchange of the replicative DNA polymerase in Mycobacterium smegmatis
Ng W, Rego E. A nucleoid-associated protein is involved in the emergence of antibiotic resistance by promoting the frequent exchange of the replicative DNA polymerase in Mycobacterium smegmatis. MSphere 2024, 9: e00122-24. PMID: 38591887, PMCID: PMC11237743, DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00122-24.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsNucleoid-associated proteinsReplicative DNA polymerasesBypass DNA lesionsDNA replicationDNA polymeraseAntibiotic resistanceDamaged DNAExpression of error-prone DNA polymerasesReplicative polymerasesHigh-fidelity replicative polymerasesQuantitative fluorescence imaging techniqueError-prone DNA synthesisDNA lesionsError-prone DNA polymerasesHorizontal gene transferEmergence of antibiotic resistanceDNA-damaging agentsRepair damaged DNAResistance to rifampinRobust cell growthGrowth defectLsr2Replication forksBacterial speciesChromosomal mutationsEvolutionarily divergent Mycobacterium tuberculosis CTP synthase filaments are under selective pressure
Lynch E, Lu Y, Park J, Shao L, Kollman J, Rego E. Evolutionarily divergent Mycobacterium tuberculosis CTP synthase filaments are under selective pressure. Nature Communications 2025, 16: 5993. PMID: 40593557, PMCID: PMC12219555, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-60847-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCytidine triphosphate synthaseChromosome segregationCytidine triphosphateClinical isolatesClinical isolates of M. tuberculosisHigher-order filamentsCell wall synthesisTree of lifeIsolates of M. tuberculosisM. tuberculosisMutant enzymesWall synthesisCritical nucleotidesPyrimidine biosynthesisPositive selectionSelection pressureHigher-order structureActive conformationFilament formationProduct inhibitionUnusual architectureChromosomeMycobacterium tuberculosisEnzymeCellular techniques
2024
Phenotypic Heterogeneity in Pathogens
Sherry J, Rego E. Phenotypic Heterogeneity in Pathogens. Annual Review Of Genetics 2024, 58: 183-209. PMID: 39083846, DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genet-111523-102459.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsPhenotypic heterogeneityGenetically identical populationSalmonella typhimuriumGenetic diversityPathogen diversityPathogen populationsBacterial pathogensPathogen subpopulationsGenetic heterogeneityInvading pathogensHost organismFluctuating environmentsInfectious disease progressionPathogensIdentical populationsTreatment escapeInfection outcomesHeterogeneous subpopulationsDisease progressionInfecting organismDiversityCausative linkGeneticsSubpopulationsPhenotype
2022
Mycobacterial serine/threonine phosphatase PstP is phosphoregulated and localized to mediate control of cell wall metabolism
Shamma F, Rego E, Boutte C. Mycobacterial serine/threonine phosphatase PstP is phosphoregulated and localized to mediate control of cell wall metabolism. Molecular Microbiology 2022, 118: 47-60. PMID: 35670057, PMCID: PMC10070032, DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14951.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCell wall metabolismWall metabolismCell wall-related proteinsSerine/threonine proteinCell wall regulationPhosphomimetic mutationReversible phosphorylationThreonine phosphataseEnvironmental stressRegulatory proteinsCell wallCorresponding mutationMycobacterial cell wallAntibiotic toleranceNovel substrateFhaAProteinPstPMycobacterium smegmatisWag31Certain substratesPeptidoglycanPhosphorylationRegulationMajor mechanism
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Honors
honor Pew Biomedical Scholar
08/01/2018National AwardPew Charitable TrustsDetailsUnited Stateshonor Searle Scholar Award
07/01/2018National AwardDetailsUnited Stateshonor Kingsley Award in Medical Research
08/01/2016Yale School of Medicine AwardDetailsUnited Stateshonor Career Awards at the Scientific Interfaces
10/01/2014National AwardBurroughs Wellcome FundDetailsUnited Stateshonor Ruth L. Kirschstein National Service Award
07/01/2014National AwardDetailsUnited States
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Microbial Pathogenesis
295 Congress Ave, BCMM 336D/337
New Haven, CT 06519
United States
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Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine
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295 Congress Avenue, Rm BCMM 336D
New Haven, CT 06510
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295 Congress Avenue, Rm BCMM 337
New Haven, CT 06510
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