About
Biographies
Research Interests and Accomplishments
Dr. Sinem Beyhan is an Infectious Disease Investigator at the J. Craig Venter Institute. Dr. Beyhan’s long-term research goal is to understand how microbial pathogens can sense and respond to their environment to trigger expression of genes required for virulence. Her current research focuses on the fungal pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum, a dimorphic fungal pathogen that is the most common cause of fungal respiratory infections in immunocompetent hosts. Notable biology of this organism includes its ability to sense mammalian body temperature and shift from a multicellular environmental form to a parasitic yeast form that grows within mammalian immune cells. Dr. Beyhan’s recent work identified and characterized temperature-responsive regulatory networks that govern cell shape and virulence properties in H. capsulatum. She continues to expand her research program at JCVI to study developmental regulation and virulence properties of this ubiquitous pathogen.
Dr. Beyhan received her B.S. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. She received her Ph.D. in 2008 from the Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology at the University of California, Santa Cruz under the supervision of Dr. Fitnat Yildiz. At UCSC, the central goal of her dissertation research was to understand the molecular mechanism of biofilm formation and the cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) signaling system in Vibrio cholerae, the etiologic agent of the disease cholera. Her Ph.D. work revealed the importance of c-di-GMP, a prokaryotic secondary messenger, in motility, biofilm formation, and environmental survival of V. cholerae. Dr. Beyhan then completed her postdoctoral studies in Anita Sil’s laboratory at the University of California, San Francisco before joining JCVI.
Select Publications
Beyhan S, Gutierrez M, et al.
A Temperature-responsive Network Links Cell Shape and Virulence Traits in a Primary Fungal Pathogen.
PLoS Biology. 2013 Jul 01; 11: e1001614.[more]
Richard AL, Withey JH, et al.
The Vibrio cholerae Virulence Regulatory Cascade Controls Glucose Uptake Through Activation of TarA, a Small Regulatory RNA.
Molecular Microbiology. 2010 Dec 01; 78: 1171-81.[more]
Liu X, Beyhan S, et al.
Identification and Characterization of a Phosphodiesterase That Inversely Regulates Motility and Biofilm Formation in Vibrio Cholerae.
Journal of Bacteriology. 2010 Sep 01; 192: 4541-52.[more]
Sikora AE, Beyhan S, et al.
Cell Envelope Perturbation Induces Oxidative Stress and Changes in Iron Homeostasis in Vibrio Cholerae.
Journal of Bacteriology. 2009 Sep 01; 191: 5398-408.[more]
Mueller RS, Beyhan S, et al.
Indole Acts as an Extracellular Cue Regulating Gene Expression in Vibrio Cholerae.
Journal of Bacteriology. 2009 Jun 01; 191: 3504-16.[more]
Beyhan S, Odell LS, et al.
Identification and Characterization of Cyclic Diguanylate Signaling Systems Controlling Rugosity in Vibrio Cholerae.
Journal of Bacteriology. 2008 Nov 01; 190: 7392-405.[more]
Beyhan S, Yildiz FH
Smooth to Rugose Phase Variation in Vibrio cholerae Can Be Mediated by a Single Nucleotide Change That Targets C-di-GMP Signalling Pathway.
Molecular Microbiology. 2007 Feb 01; 63: 995-1007.[more]
Lim B, Beyhan S, et al.
Regulation of Vibrio Polysaccharide Synthesis and Virulence Factor Production by CdgC, a GGDEF-EAL Domain Protein, in Vibrio Cholerae.
Journal of Bacteriology. 2007 Feb 01; 189: 717-29.[more]
Beyhan S, Bilecen K, et al.
Regulation of Rugosity and Biofilm Formation in Vibrio Cholerae: Comparison of VpsT and VpsR Regulons and Epistasis Analysis of VpsT, VpsR, and HapR.
Journal of Bacteriology. 2007 Jan 01; 189: 388-402.[more]
Beyhan S, Tischler AD, et al.
Differences in Gene Expression Between the Classical and El Tor Biotypes of Vibrio cholerae O1.
Infection and Immunity. 2006 Jun 01; 74: 3633-42.[more]
Beyhan S, Tischler AD, et al.
Transcriptome and Phenotypic Responses of Vibrio cholerae to Increased Cyclic Di-GMP Level.
Journal of Bacteriology. 2006 May 01; 188: 3600-13.[more]
Lim B, Beyhan S, et al.
Cyclic-diGMP Signal Transduction Systems in Vibrio Cholerae: Modulation of Rugosity and Biofilm Formation.
Molecular Microbiology. 2006 Apr 01; 60: 331-48.[more]