Dr. Morgenstein received a B.S. in microbial biology and B.A. in classical civilizations from the University of California, Berkeley. He then went on to earn a Ph.D. in microbiology from Emory University, where he studied surface sensing and cellular differentiation in the Gram negative pathogen, Proteus mirabilis. This work examined the how O-antigen senses surfaces and relays that information into the cell through the Rcs two-component system. After completing his Ph.D. Randy went to Princeton to do postdoctoral work in the lab of Zemer Gitai. At Princeton Randy examined the cause and function of MreB dynamics in bacteria. He started is own lab at Oklahoma State in 2016 where he continues to work on MreB. Randy uses genetics and quantitative microscopy methods to uncover the role of MreB and cell shape in cell physiology.
