Valerie J. Carabetta
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Biology, Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine
Valerie Carabetta is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU). The overarching theme of her laboratory is combatting antimicrobial resistance in bacteria. With the alarming trend of increasing antibiotic resistance and constant emergence of new "super bugs" the need to develop new antimicrobial therapeutics is critical.
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To fight this battle against bacteria, Dr. Carabetta utilizes a multidisciplinary approach, combining traditional genetic methods with in vitro biochemistry and state-of-the art mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Her primary area of interest lies in understanding the physiological consequences of protein acetylation and the underlying molecular mechanisms that control it. To help advance this field of study, she has focused on the highly conserved, essential (in Bacillus subtilis) histone-like protein HBsu, and developed a series of techniques for studying acetylation in bacteria. Lysine acetylation was recently realized to be a widespread bacterial post-translational modification (PTM), contrary to the historical notion that this was a rare occurrence. Dr. Carabetta and her colleagues made several important early contributions to this rapidly growing field. Currently, the lab is continuing to explore and develop novel techniques to understand protein acetylation in bacteria. The long-term goal is to determine if specific acetylated proteins or the enzymes that control them can be novel, effective antimicrobial therapeutics. So far, targeting the enzymes of acetylation has been successful for treatment of certain cancers, fungal and viral infections. Dr. Carabetta's other research interests involve new collaborations with Cooper University Hospital and Rowan University, which center on developing new antimicrobial strategies to combat difficult-to-treat infections.
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Dr. Carabetta is the Past-President of the Theobald Smith Society, the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society for Microbiology. She serves on the Topical Advisory Board for the journal Antibiotics and on the reviewer board for Microorganisms. She recently was a Co-Guest Editor for Frontiers in Microbiology, publishing a special topic theme issue entitled "Bacterial Post-Translational Modifications." She is also guest editing a collection for Antibiotics, on "Novel Antimicrobial Strategies to Combat Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) Gram-Negative Bacteria."
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Fun Facts: Dr. Carabetta loves baking, road trips, and her sports teams (NJ Devils, NY Red Bulls, NY Mets, NY Jets). She has been a full season ticket holder of the NJ Devils since 2005!
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