LabCompass

Daniel B. Kearns

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Indiana University

OpenAlex ORCID
Established · publishing since 1985
Bacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyBacteriophages and microbial interactionsBacterial biofilms and quorum sensingRNA and protein synthesis mechanismsMicro and Nano Robotics

Publications

210

Citations

12,059

Est. group size

—

Recurring co-author estimate

Active years

42

Publishing since 1985

Research summary
AI-generated

Daniel B. Kearns studies how bacteria, especially the model soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis, build and control the flagellum (the whip-like structure used for swimming) and coordinate cell growth, division, and movement across surfaces (swarming). The research combines molecular genetics, biochemistry, and imaging to understand how bacterial cells organize these processes and their evolutionary origins.

Flagellar assembly and gene regulationBacterial swarming and surface motilityCell division and cell wall biology in Bacillus subtilisGene expression and RNA/protein synthesis in bacteriaEvolution of bacterial motility structures

Publication activity has been fairly steady over the past decade, generally in the range of about 10-16 papers per year with some year-to-year variation.

Generated by claude-opus-4-8 from public bibliographic data · Jul 9, 2026

Funding
Public award records

Current awards run through February 2029 — about 2 years of funding on record from today. Awards are often renewed, so this is what is currently public, not a forecast.

  • ActiveNIH R35GM131783through Feb 2029 · $464k awarded

    Swarming motility and the regulation of flagellar biosynthesis in Bacillus subtilis

2 earlier awards
  • NIH R01GM093030Jul 2010 – Jun 2019 · $299k awarded

    Structural homeostasis and the assembly of a bacterial nanomachine

  • NSF 0721187Sep 2007 – Aug 2010

    SinR Regulates the Transition from Motility to Biofilm Formation in Bacillus Subtilis

Matched to public NIH RePORTER and NSF records by name and institution. Awards from other agencies are not shown, and a match is not always found — this list may be incomplete.

In context
Among 1,724 established Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology PIs within our index
Citations: 12,059cohort median 3,385
h-index: 55cohort median 27
Publications / year (recent): 9.0cohort median 4.6

Typically publishes in teams of ~5 · 20% small-team papers (≤3 authors) · across 46 venues

Publication cadence
Publications per year over the last 10 years — averaging 9.0/year recently
2017: 15 publications172018: 6 publications182019: 15 publications192020: 16 publications16202021: 11 publications212022: 10 publications222023: 7 publications232024: 7 publications242025: 11 publications252026: 10 publications26
Collaborators per year
Distinct co-authors at Indiana University each year — a rough indication of whether the group around this researcher has been growing or contracting. An estimate from co-authorship, not a roster: collaborators are not necessarily lab members, and recent years can be under-counted while indexing catches up.
2017: 0 collaborators at the same institution2018: 0 collaborators at the same institution2019: 2 collaborators at the same institution2020: 0 collaborators at the same institution2021: 1 collaborator at the same institution2022: 0 collaborators at the same institution2023: 0 collaborators at the same institution2024: 0 collaborators at the same institution2025: 9 collaborators at the same institution1719212325
Recent publications
Publishes in
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)×26
  • Journal of Bacteriology×16
  • mBio×8
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences×4
  • Journal of Molecular Biology×4
Similar researchers
By research-topic overlap
  • Yves V. Brun

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  • David E.H. Fuller

    Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · University of Michigan

  • Michael S. VanNieuwenhze

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  • Sujeet Kumar

    Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · The Ohio State University

  • Xindan Wang

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This profile was generated automatically from public scholarly data (OpenAlex). Group size and activity levels are estimates derived from co-authorship patterns.

Last updated Sep 1, 2026.

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