For this Faculty Feature, we spoke with Jerome Prusa, PhD, Instructor, Pathology & Immunology in Laboratory & Genomic Medicine.
Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up, and when did you first become interested in science and medicine?
I great up in Omaha, Nebraska and my interest in science and medicine developed and evolved throughout high school and into college. During high school I enjoyed math and science, especially physics, because I enjoyed solving problems but my favorite classes were those that involved developing research-based arguments and debating the evidence we collected, which happened more often in my high school humanities classes. It was not until college that the I fully appreciated that science was a perfect blend of solving problems but also forming arguments in the form of a hypothesis, using both the published work of others, but best of all being able to actively contribute to supporting or refuting a hypothesis by doing experiments. I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to do mentored research through the INBRE program in the laboratory of William Tapprich, where I developed a deep interest in molecular microbiology and RNA biochemistry, and where I decided to pursue graduate studies.
What is your career path?
After graduating from University of Nebraska at Omaha, I spent a year finishing my undergraduate research project and applied to Molecular Microbiology programs. I was focused on doing my graduate studies in microbial pathogenesis, and decided Washington University’s DBBS Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis pathway was the best fit because of the breadth and quality of research in all different types of microbial pathogens and pathogen discovery. I joined Dr. Christina Stallings laboratory to study mycobacterial gene expression, where I characterized novel transcription initiation mechanisms. After finishing my thesis work, I decided to stay at WashU for my postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Dr. Gautam Dantas to develop expertise in microbial genomics and proficiency in computational biology techniques. While in the Dantas lab, I have had the opportunity to contribute to several projects including characterizing antibiotic resistance gene carriage and mobilization in clinically important microbial pathogens, probiotic engineering for cancer therapeutics, and studying the gut microbiome in the context of colorectal cancer tumorigenesis. Starting in 2025, I became an instructor in the Dantas lab where I have continued working on the projects I contributed to as a postdoc.
What are your favorite parts of your current role?
My favorite part of my current role is the opportunity for continued growth and learning. The Dantas lab works on several different interesting projects that are constantly evolving, and develops new projects regularly. Each of the projects are pursued by highly talented and passionate trainees and staff and so I really value continuously learning new things from our lab’s community.
What is a memorable moment you’ve had while working in the department?
One of the coolest aspects of the Dantas lab is the close and longstanding collaborations with clinical microbiology laboratories at WashU, which allows our laboratories to perform comparative bacterial genomics of clinical isolates derived from many different sources. A memorable moment as a member of the department was being able to be contribute and witness from start to finish a complex multistep pipeline beginning with a set of swabs containing unknown bacterial communities collected from individuals across the globe and ending with a set of completely assembled bacterial genomes that we could analyze and compare at base pair level resolution.
What special skills or talents do you have that people may not know about?
Likely due to all the careful pipetting, I have never lost a game of Jenga.
What are some of your favorite hobbies or activities?
Reading, cooking, watching sports, spending time with friends and families, all types of board games, and trying to stay physically active by running, lifting weights, or playing softball.
What is your advice to aspiring people in your field?
Ask for advice and actively listen. In my experience, the most productive people are not necessarily the “smartest” or “hardest working” people, but rather the people that seek out advice from as many experienced people as possible and then make the most of this advice by coming to the expert prepared and doing your best to know what you don’t know.
