Robertson Lab

Dr. Gregory Robertson’s research is focused on the field of Mycobacterium tuberculosis host-pathogen interactions with emphasis on the development of novel preclinical tools, use of TB mouse models for drug evaluation, and evaluation of drug activity and resistance in vitro and in vivo. He also leads preclinical animal studies as part of the Consortium for Applied Microbial Metrics including other investigators from the University of California San Francisco, Denver VA Medical Center, and CU Anschutz Medical Campus.

We are looking for talented researchers to join our team!

Contact to Join Our Team

research project

TB Drug Accelerator

Goal: (i) To identify in vivo active compounds, (ii) to enable more effective hit-to-lead and lead optimization cycles, and (iii) to support the selection of pre-clinical candidates as a service for the TB Drug Accelerator researchers.

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research project

Development of Novel Proteins Synthesis Inhibitors for MDR Tuberculosis

Goal: This proposal seeks to continue the development of the spectinamides as combination agents for MDR-TB, with a focus on their utility to treat chronic infections and as tools to understand the role of native efflux in tuberculosis drug persistence.

research project

IDENTIFYING CELL PENETRATING PEPTIDES TO TARGET TB

Goal: Tuberculosis is difficult to treat because many drugs are hindered in their ability to penetrate tissues that harbor the pathogen. We propose to overcome this problem by developing new technology based on peptides that recognize and home to TB-infected tissue as a means to target drug payloads to where they are needed most.

research project

NIAID/NIH funded UM1 cooperative agreement: PReclinical DesIgn and Clinical Translation of TB Regimens (PReDicTR) Consortium.

The core goal is to unite key scientists and dedicated stakeholders to build a translational research platform to accurately and efficiently identify and advance the most promising TB treatment regimens through the developmental pipeline into clinical trials.

research project

Validation of Mtb ribosomal RNA as a PD marker of treatment response

Goal: The primary output from this investment is the rapid and comprehensive characterization of novel RNA-based PD markers as measures of treatment-shortening potency.

Publications

The role of cytochrome bc1 inhibitors in future tuberculosis treatment regimens
Aguilar-Pérez C, Lenaerts AJ, Villellas C, Guillemont J, Dallow J, Painter H, Ammerman NC, Hassan A, Golovkine G, Brock L, Sordello S, Chauffour A, Aubry A, Mai TC, Wong S, Clark TG, Nam K, Kim J, Choi J, Crabbe M, Esquivias J, Lounis N, Stoops B, Amssoms K, Bartolome-Nebreda JM, Gruppo V, Robertson GT, Veziris N, Upton AM, Nuermberger EL, Cox V, Ballell L, Baeten B, Koul A, Pym AS, Wall RJ, Lamprecht DA. Nat Commun. 2025 Oct 22;16(1):9344. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-64427-6. PMID: 41125580; PMCID: PMC12546632.

Evaluating the efficacy of HRZE-based regimens in a high-burden murine model: a back-translational assessment of rifamycins and moxifloxacin substitutions in tuberculosis treatment.
Cummings JE, Woolhiser LK, Guglielmi V, Wernsman M, Romano A, Pauly S, Belisle JT, Walter ND, Robertson GT, Slayden RA. Front Pharmacol. 2025 Sep 15;16:1667592. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1667592. PMID: 41031156; PMCID: PMC12477428.

Sterilizing activity of spectinamide MBX-4888A when replacing linezolid in the Nix-TB regimen in the relapsing BALB/c mouse model of tuberculosis.
Peroutka-Bigus N, Sherman MS, Kaya F, Waidyarachchi SL, Liu J, Rushefsky J, Butler MM, Bowlin T, Meibohm B, Gonzalez-Juarrero M, Lenaerts AJ, Zimmerman M, Lee RE, Robertson GT. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Aug 6:2025.08.04.668403. doi: 10.1101/2025.08.04.668403. PMID: 40799565 Free PMC article. Preprint.

The kinetics of bedaquiline diffusion in tuberculous cavities open a window for emergence of resistance.
Bustion AE, Ernest JP, Kaya F, Silva C, Sarathy J, Blanc L, Imperial M, Gengenbacher M, Xie M, Zimmerman M, Robertson GT, Weiner D, Via LE, Barry CE, Savic RM, Dartois V. J Infect Dis. 2025 Jun 4:jiaf303. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaf303. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40464735

Comparison of whole blood on filter strips with serum for avian influenza virus antibody detection in wild birds.
Giacinti JA, Rahman I, Wight J, Lewis H, Taylor LU, Provencher JF, Ronconi R, Berhane Y, Xu W, Zhmendak D, Sarma SN, Sharp CM, Cunningham JT, Hedd A, Bosch JL, Robertson GJ, Hargan KE, Lang AS. Conserv Physiol. 2025 Jun 9;13(1):coaf033. doi: 10.1093/conphys/coaf033. eCollection 2025. PMID: 40491934 Free PMC article.

more publications

People

Gregory Robertson headshot.
Gregory Robertson, Ph.D.

Lab Principal Investigator [PI]
Assistant Professor

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Nathan Peroutka-Bigus

Research Scientist II

Allison Bauman headshot.
Allison Bauman

Research Associate III

Lisa Massoudi Headshot
Lisa Massoudi

Research Associate III

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Nicholas Egersdorf

Research Associate III

Noalani Benedict
Noalani Benedict, D.V.M.

Research Associate II

Madelyn Maclaughlin Headsho
Madelyn Maclaughlin

Graduate Research Assistant
Ph.D. Student

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Hattie Aanestad

Student Researcher

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Maryann Bender

Student Researcher

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Ian Brannock

Student Researcher

Brenna Dowden
Brenna Dowden

Student Researcher

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Isabel Inman

Student Researcher

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Tyler Grossi

Student Researcher

Sierra Johnson
Sierra Johnson

Student Researcher

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Audrey Kram

Student Researcher

Amanda Kuzbiel

Student Researcher

Avni Mirajkar
Avni Mirajkar

Student Researcher

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Joshua Raahauge

Student Researcher

Joel Rushefsky
Joel Rushefsky

Student Researcher

Josie Small
Josie Small

Student Researcher

Mia Stephens Halleslevens
Mia Stephens Halleslevens

Student Researcher

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Ana Carolina Takutsa Fonseca

MARC Scholar
Student Researcher

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Eja Willis

Student Researcher

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contact information

Office:
Microbiology room B308

Laboratory:
Microbiology room B331

(970) 491-3750