Faculty

Thomas Wood

Endowed Chair Professor of Engineering
Huck Co-Hire with College of Engineering

0042 Greenberg Indoor Cplex

Email tuw14@psu.edu
Phone 814-863-4811

Areas of Expertise

Biofilm Immunology and Microbiology
Escherichia Coli Immunology and Microbiology
Escherichia Coli Keyphrases
Biofilm Formation Keyphrases
Biofilm Keyphrases
Quorum Sensing Immunology and Microbiology
Bacterium Immunology and Microbiology
Toluene Keyphrases

Genome-wide screen reveals a universal role of ATP in ciprofloxacin tolerance among genetically distinct Escherichia coli persisters
Zhenfang Mei, Yawen Cai, Jianfeng Huang, Kedong Zhao, Zuqin Zhang, Dandan Yu, Shiyan Lu, Zeying Lai, Thomas K. Wood, Xinmiao Fu, Apr 2026, In: mLife
Date: Apr 2026

Single-cell analysis reveals critical toxin/antitoxin ratio triggering persister resuscitation
Lina Wu, Qingqing Wang, Xinyi Hong, Xueer Cai, Litinghui Zhang, Min Li, Mingkai Wu, Thomas K. Wood, Xiaomei Yan, 2026, In: Molecular Systems Biology
Date: 2026

Type IX class utilizing cell signals for organizing toxin–antitoxin systems
Eunsol Seo, Hyeon Ji Hwang, Younghoon Kim, Thomas K. Wood, 2026, In: Trends in Microbiology
Date: 2026

Challenging the paradigm
Katya Dafne Guadarrama-Orozco, Diego Armando Esquivel-Hernández, Miguel Ángel Islas-Tolentino, Fohad Mabood Husain, Héctor Quezada, Selene García-Reyes, Bernardo Franco, Diana Laura Marroquin-Mendiola, María Guadalupe Lucero-Gil, Lorena Paola Olvera-Falfan, Ángel Yahir Estrada-Velasco, Misael ..., Nov 1 2025, In: FEMS microbiology ecology
Date: Nov 1 2025

Adsorption of phage T2 is inhibited due to inversion of cryptic prophage DNA by the serine recombinase PinQ
Joy Kirigo, Daniel Huelgas‐Méndez, María Tomás, Michael J. Benedik, Rodolfo García‐Contreras, Thomas K. Wood, Oct 28 2025, In: Nucleic acids research
Date: Oct 28 2025

Matrix Stiffness Regulates TGFβ1-Induced αSMA Expression via a G9a-LATS-YAP Signaling Cascade
Chinmay S. Sankhe, Jessica L. Sacco, Victoria L. Crunkleton, Malcom Díaz García, Matthew J. Bierowski, David Vidotto Rezende Soares, Jacob A. Karnick, Rachel L. Cecco, Arefeh Abbasi, Joy Kirigo, Thomas K. Wood, Esther W. Gomez, Jul 2025, In: FASEB BioAdvances
Date: Jul 2025

The world of phage tail-like bacteriocins
Clara Ibarguren, Inés Bleriot, Lucia Blasco, Laura Fernández-García, Concha Ortiz-Cartagena, Lucia Arman, Antonio Barrio-Pujante, Olaya Menéndez Rodríguez, Rodolfo García-Contreras, Thomas K. Wood, María Tomás, Jun 2025, In: Microbiological Research
Date: Jun 2025

A noncanonical intrinsic terminator in the HicAB toxin–antitoxin operon promotes the transmission of conjugative antibiotic resistance plasmids
Jianzhong Lin, Songwei Ni, Baiyuan Li, Yunxue Guo, Xinyu Gao, Yabo Liu, Lingxian Yi, Pengxia Wang, Ran Chen, Jianyun Yao, Thomas K. Wood, Xiaoxue Wang, Mar 24 2025, In: Nucleic acids research
Date: Mar 24 2025

Phages and quorum sensing
Laura Fernández-Garcia, Lucia Blasco, Inés Bleriot, Lucía Arman, Clara Ibarguren-Quiles, Antonio Barrio-Pujante, Manuel González de Aledo, Rodolfo García-Contreras, Rafael Cantón, Thomas K. Wood, María Tomas, 2025, In: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Date: 2025

Conformational change as a mechanism for toxin activation in bacterial toxin-antitoxin systems
Viviana Sanchez-Torres, Hyeon Ji Hwang, Thomas K. Wood, Nov 2024, In: Journal of virology
Date: Nov 2024

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The bacterial signal indole increases epithelial-cell tight-junction resistance and attenuates indicators of inflammation
Tarun Bansal, Robert C. Alaniz, Thomas K. Wood, Arul Jayaraman, 2010, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Citations: 780

Bacterial persister cell formation and dormancy
Thomas K. Wood, Stephen J. Knabel, Brian W. Kwan, Dec 2013, In: Applied and environmental microbiology
Citations: 609

Cryptic prophages help bacteria cope with adverse environments
Xiaoxue Wang, Younghoon Kim, Qun Ma, Seok Hoon Hong, Karina Pokusaeva, Joseph M. Sturino, Thomas K. Wood, 2010, In: Nature communications
Citations: 534

Autoinducer 2 controls biofilm formation in Escherichia coli through a novel motility quorum-sensing regulator (MqsR, B3022)
Andrés F. González Barrios, Rongjun Zuo, Yoshifumi Hashimoto, Li Yang, William E. Bentley, Thomas K. Wood, Jan 2006, In: Journal of bacteriology
Citations: 497

Roles of indole as an interspecies and interkingdom signaling molecule
Jin Hyung Lee, Thomas K. Wood, Jintae Lee, 2015, In: Trends in Microbiology
Citations: 466

Indole is an inter-species biofilm signal mediated by SdiA
Jintae Lee, Arul Jayaraman, Thomas K. Wood, 2007, In: BMC microbiology
Citations: 431

Toxin-antitoxin systems influence biofilm and persister cell formation and the general stress response
Xiaoxue Wang, Thomas K. Wood, Aug 2011, In: Applied and environmental microbiology
Citations: 393

Gene expression in Escherichia coli biofilms
D. Ren, L. A. Bedzyk, S. M. Thomas, R. W. Ye, T. K. Wood, May 2004, In: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Citations: 337

Differential effects of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and indole on Escherichia coli O157:H7 chemotaxis, colonization, and gene expression
Tarun Bansal, Derek Englert, Jintae Lee, Manjunath Hegde, Thomas K. Wood, Arul Jayaraman, Sep 2007, In: Infection and Immunity
Citations: 321

Inhibition of biofilm formation and swarming of escherichia coli by (5Z)-4-bromo-5-(bromomethylene)-3- butyl-2(5H)-furanone
Dacheng Ren, James J. Sims, Thomas K. Wood, 2001, In: Environmental microbiology
Citations: 319

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Centers & Institutes

One Health Microbiome Center

With a $450,000, three-year U.S. National Science Foundation grant and equivalent funding from the Binational Science Foundation in Israel, an international team of researchers co-led by Thomas Wood, biotechnology endowed chair and professor of chemical engineering at Penn State, will investigate the role E. coli plays in the gut and how it may affect intestinal inflammation. Credit: Poornima Tomy/Penn State . All Rights Reserved.

October 30, 2025

Q&A: Bacteria research could be a gut-punch to inflammatory bowel disease

Thomas Wood is investigating a previously overlooked bacterial defense system that can stop viruses in their tracks. Credit: Poornima Tomy/Penn State. All Rights Reserved.

October 24, 2025

Thomas Wood

Areas of Expertise

Q&A: Bacteria research could be a gut-punch to inflammatory bowel disease

Old dog, new tricks: Prehistoric viruses can be used to defend bacterial cells

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