Ana was the first postdoc to join the lab and was instrumental in helping us gain momentum in our research endeavors and build a center that also supported research broadly across PennVet. She set up our sequencing operation, and worked closely with colleagues at PennVet and PennMed to kickstart many collaborations that would run for years. Ana was awarded a Morris Animal Foundation Fellowship, and her research focused on genome sequencing and comparative genomics of Staphyloccous species from animals and humans. Her work was the first to overturn the widely held view that Staphylococci used the mevalonate pathway for isoprenoid biosynthesis (an essential pathway for all of life), showing that this was only true for S. aureus, and that most – if not all – Staph associated with companion, agricultural and wildlife animals used a separate pathway to make isoprenoids. Her ‘One-health’ project paved the way for drug development for veterinary Staph species and highlighted a unique evolutionary aspect of Staphylococcus.
Ana Misic
Ana Misic
Postdoc
