Education And Outreach
Community Phages Program
The lab runs the HMS Community Phages Program, which engages students in phage discovery and host-pathogen biology through hands-on research experiences.
Visit The ProgramDeciphering the molecular mechanisms of bacterial growth.
The Bernhardt lab studies how bacteria build and remodel their cell envelopes with the goal of enhancing our fundamental understanding of bacterial growth. The knowledge gained will enable the development of novel antibiotics to combat the global threat of drug resistant bacterial infections.
Lab at a glance
- Focus: Mechanistic analysis of bacterial cell surface biogenesis and the mode-of-action of cell wall targeting antibiotics
- Model Organisms: E. coli, C. glutamicum, A. baumannii, S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa
- Approach: microbial genetics integrated with imaging, biochemistry, and structural analysis
Affiliated with
Harvard Medical School Department of Microbiology Howard Hughes Medical Institute
About The Lab
Fundamental microbiology with translational relevance.
Core question
How do bacteria coordinate the assembly of their membranes, cell wall, and other surface layers to maintain cellular integrity and prevent the entry of antibiotics and other toxic compounds?
Why this matters
Many of our most effective antibiotics like penicillin and related drugs target the assembly of the bacterial cell wall. This wall and its associated surface layers also prevent antibiotic entry and contribute to the intrinsic drug resistance of bacteria. Defining the mechanisms of bacterial surface assembly therefore has the potential to identify new vulnerabilities in the bacterial growth program to target for antibiotic development and/or to resensitize resistant organisms to existing therapies.
How we work
We combine classical and modern bacterial genetics with biochemistry and advanced imaging methods across diverse bacterial species to uncover new insights into the mechanisms that promote bacterial growth and the integrity of their cell surface.
Team
Meet the team.
Team directory
Browse the full directory for current lab members, research interests, and profile pages.
Thomas Bernhardt
Professor in the Department of Microbiology at Harvard Medical School and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Research In Motion
A dividing bacterial cell in real time.
Featured video shows bacterial growth, division, and envelope stress responses as they happen.
Featured Video
Inside the Bernhardt Lab research program
A short video overview of how the lab studies bacterial envelope growth and division, and why these mechanisms matter for antimicrobial strategy.
Captions are enabled in the player.
Watch on YouTubeRead video summary
The Bernhardt Lab investigates how bacteria build, maintain, and remodel their cell envelopes during growth and division. The video highlights live-cell microscopy and genetics approaches used to map where and when envelope machinery is active.
It explains how coupling synthesis with regulated hydrolysis is essential for accurate cytokinesis, how stress-response pathways protect envelope integrity, and why these mechanisms create opportunities to identify vulnerable nodes for antibiotic development.
The featured examples span model organisms and clinically important pathogens, connecting basic envelope biology to broader antimicrobial strategy and resistance-focused research.
Selected Publications
Selected Bernhardt Lab Publications
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The aPBP-type cell wall synthase PBP1b plays a specialized role in fortifying the Escherichia coli division site against osmotic rupture
Shows that PBP1b fortifies the division site against osmotic rupture during cytokinesis.
bioRxiv (2025)
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The mycomembrane proteins PorH and ProtX are inserted at polar growth zones and linked to the cell wall
Links PorH and ProtX insertion to polar growth and cell-wall connectivity in the corynebacterial mycomembrane.
bioRxiv (2025)
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Using fluorescently labeled wheat germ agglutinin to track lipopolysaccharide transport to the outer membrane in Escherichia coli
Introduces a direct live-cell readout for lipopolysaccharide trafficking into the outer membrane.
mBio (2025)
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Synthesis of lipid-linked precursors of the bacterial cell wall is governed by a feedback control mechanism in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Reveals feedback control over lipid-linked precursor synthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa cell-wall biogenesis.
Nature Microbiology (2024)
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A role for the Gram-negative outer membrane in bacterial shape determination
Demonstrates that the Gram-negative outer membrane contributes directly to bacterial shape determination.
PNAS (2023)
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Phage resistance profiling identifies new genes required for biogenesis and modification of the corynebacterial cell envelope
Uses phage resistance profiling to uncover new genes required for corynebacterial envelope biogenesis and modification.
eLife (2022)
Lab Gallery
Life in the lab.
Featured Alumni
Where Bernhardt lab alumni are now.
Roles are based on Bernhardt lab records and public institutional profiles (updated March 17, 2026). Request an update or removal. Include your name, entry URL, and requested correction/removal.
Contact
Thomas Bernhardt Lab
Department of Microbiology
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA 02115
Email: thomas_bernhardt@hms.harvard.edu
Contact The LabHarvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston.
Join The Lab
Training opportunities
If you are looking for training opportunities at any level, please contact us about potential openings.
- Postdoctoral fellows
- Graduate students
- Undergraduate researchers
A short note about your interests, training stage, and timing is helpful.
Collaborators
Collaborator Network
The Bernhardt Lab works with complementary HMS and Harvard groups across microbiology, chemistry, structure, and single-molecule biophysics.
Rudner Lab
Bacterial development and cell biology
Open lab websiteWalker Lab
Chemical biology of cell wall assembly
Open lab websiteKahne Lab
Gram-negative envelope assembly and resistance
Open lab websiteKruse Lab
Membrane protein signaling and structure
Open lab websiteLoparo Lab
Single-molecule genome maintenance
Open lab website