Employ state of the art tools ranging from molecular biology to physical biochemistry to virulence models in order to understand the processes used by human pathogens to cause disease. For my lab, this involves studying the sequestration and mobilization of metals or use of unique substrates (i.e. molecular hydrogen) by bacterial pathogens to make the pathogen more virulent. Multidisciplinary approaches and collaborations are necessary to achieve high impact studies today. I also see the training of diverse scientists who can communicate the importance of academic research to the public, the press, to industry, and to other specialists in legal or societal issues as an increasingly important goal of academic researchers.