Education
Postdoctoral fellowship, Microbiology University of Washington
Ph.D., Microbiology & Immunology Stanford University
A.B., Biochemical Sciences Harvard University
Dr. Gibbs studies the social behaviors of tiny organisms. Her team asks how bacteria recognize one another, engage in collective behaviors like territory formation, and cause disease. The Gibbs Lab uses molecular biology, biochemistry, and live-cell imaging to examine shapeshifting, fast-moving bacterial residents of humans and animals. Over the years, the Gibbs lab team has included undergraduate and graduate students, postbaccalaureate and postdoctoral fellows, and research scientists. Outside of research, Dr. Gibbs has played several team sports and enjoys reading, running, bicycling, and skiing.
Research and Teaching
The Gibbs Lab's long-term goals include understanding bacteria's social behaviors, from genes to population dynamics. We use an integrative approach to study these microbial communities. Our specific interests include:
· Self versus non-self (kin) recognition in bacteria
· Cell-to-cell communication, signaling pathways
· Relationships between individual agency and group structures in collective behaviors
Recent publications
See https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1246-6401
Courses
Bio 1A – General Biology
PMB 290 – Applied microbiology and analytical skills
PMB 292 – Graduate Research
Karine Gibbs to speak at the 11th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Webinar <https://vtx.vt.edu/articles/2022/01/fralinlifesci-karen-gibbs-webinar.html> – 2022
National Institutes of Health CSR Advisory Council Working Group - Bias Awareness Training – 2021
Advisory Committee for Graduate Student and Postdoc Professional Development (UC Berkeley) – 2021
EST/Sloan Project Selection Committee <https://www.ensemblestudiotheatre.org/est-sloan> – 2021 – 2022
100 inspiring black scientists in America by A. O. Hinton, Jr.<http://crosstalk.cell.com/blog/100-inspiring-black-scientists-in-america> – 2020
Spark Award (Women in Science at Harvard-Radcliffe, Harvard University) – 2015
David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowships for Science and Engineering – 2012
microbiology, microbial development, molecular genetics, biochemistry, microbial social behaviors, bacterial communities / microbiomes, collective behaviors
