The Blaschek Laboratory is interested in the genetic manipulation of the Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) fermentation microorganism, Clostridium beijerinckii for biotechnology application in the fermentation industry. In addition to molecular based approaches, the laboratory has been involved in downstream bioprocessing and membrane-based recovery of ABE products. In the area of microbial food safety, the lab is focused on projects dealing with the foodborne pathogens Shigella boydii, Escherichia coli 0157:H7 and Clostridium perfringens.

The Blaschek Group (from l to r): Cathy Landers, Nancy Henry, Meredith Agle, Dr. Hans Blaschek, Dr. Scott Martin, Troy Jesse, Flavia Ramirez, Yvonne Chan, Dr. Thaddeus Ezeji, Dr. Nasib Qureshi

Current Projects include:

Industrial Fermentation

• Molecular based approaches for development of a second-generation strain of C. beijerinckii for bioconversion of corn into butanol
  
• examination of phosphoenolpyruvate dependent phosphotransferase system for carbohydrate transfer in C. beijerinckii
• Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) recovery & mathematical modeling
• Continuous ABE bio-reactor development
• Economic evaluation of ABE process
• Process integration and other related engineering projects

Microbial Food Safety

• Development of genetic systems (ie. transformation, shuttle vectors) as well as rapid detection systems for Clostridium perfringens
• Modeling of Shigella boydii growth, survival and biofilm formation in minimally-processed foods which have been implicated in foodborne outbreaks
• Examination of the molecular mechanism of acid tolerance of Escherichia coli 0157:H7
• Epidemiology of microbial food safety and microbial aspects of packaging defects