LabCompass

Julia C. van Kessel

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Indiana University

OpenAlex ORCID
Mid career · publishing since 2006Rising activity
Vibrio bacteria research studiesBacterial biofilms and quorum sensingBacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyAquaculture disease management and microbiotaBacteriophages and microbial interactions

Publications

68

Citations

2,719

Est. group size

~5

Recurring co-author estimate

Active years

21

Publishing since 2006

Research summary
AI-generated

Julia C. van Kessel studies how bacteria, especially Vibrio species, communicate with one another through a process called quorum sensing, where cells release and detect chemical signals to coordinate group behaviors. Her work uses molecular biology and biochemistry to uncover the genetic switches and DNA-binding proteins (such as the LuxR/HapR regulators) that control these behaviors, including virulence in disease-causing bacteria. She also investigates related topics like bacteria-attacking viruses (phages) and secretion systems that pathogens use to harm host cells.

Bacterial quorum sensing (cell-to-cell communication)Vibrio genetics and pathogenesisTranscriptional regulation and DNA-binding proteinsPhage-bacteria interactionsBacterial virulence mechanisms

Publication activity has been generally strong and growing over the last decade, with high-output years around 2020 and 2024 after a slower period earlier.

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

Funding
Public award records

Current awards run through July 2029 — about 3 years of funding on record from today. Awards are often renewed, so this is what is currently public, not a forecast.

  • ActiveNIH R13AI186224through Jul 2029 · $8k awarded

    30th Annual Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference (MMPC)

  • ActiveNSF 2525726through Sep 2028 · $428k awarded

    Collaborative Research: EDGE FGT: Advancing CRISPR approaches for bacterial functional genomics applied to marine Vibrio-host interactions

  • ActiveNIH R56AI187447through Aug 2027 · $504k awarded

    A chemical strategy for inhibiting Vibrio quorum sensing and virulence.

  • ActiveNIH R35GM124698through Jul 2027 · $70k awarded

    Quorum sensing regulation of bacterial development

3 earlier awards
  • NSF 2207168Jul 2022 – Jun 2026 · $520k awarded

    Collaborative Research: NSF-BSF: Interbacterial and environmental signaling impacts on Vibrio coralliilyticus pathogenesis of coral

  • NIH R21AI182897May 2024 – Mar 2026 · $190k awarded

    Ex vivo skin wound infection model for Vibrio vulnificus pathogenesis

  • NIH R13AI186424Jul 2024 – Jun 2025 · $7k awarded

    Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phages Conference 2024

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 1,763 mid career Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology PIs within our index
Citations: 2,719cohort median 815
h-index: 22cohort median 12
Publications / year (recent): 5.4cohort median 3.2

Typically publishes in teams of ~3 · 79% small-team papers (≤3 authors) · across 7 venues

Publication cadence
Publications per year over the last 10 years — averaging 5.4/year recently
2017: 2 publications172018: 1 publication182019: 7 publications192020: 11 publications202021: 8 publications212022: 1 publication222023: 9 publications232024: 12 publications12242025: 4 publications252026: 1 publication26
Recent publications
Publishes in
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)×16
  • Journal of Bacteriology×7
  • Microbiology Resource Announcements×4
  • Applied and Environmental Microbiology×3
  • Molecular Microbiology×3
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By research-topic overlap

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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