Weston Whitaker
Weston Whitaker is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. He engineers the gut microbiome to address challenges at the nexus of human health and the environment. His work spans from modulating host immunity to developing bacterial sensors for persistent contaminants like PFAS.
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Recent Publications
Controlled colonization of the human gut with a genetically engineered microbial therapeutic
Whitaker, W. R., Russ, Z. N., Shepherd, E. S., Popov, L. M., Louie, A., Lam, K., Zong, D. M., Gill, C. C. C., Gehrig, J. L., Rishi, H. S., Tan, J. A., Buness, A., Godoy, J., Banta, D., Jaidka, S., Wilson, K., Flood, J., Bukshpun, P., Yocum, R. & Cook, D. N. & 4 others, , Jul 17 2025, In: Science. 389, 6757, p. 303-308 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Gut Microbiota-Produced Tryptamine Activates an Epithelial G-Protein-Coupled Receptor to Increase Colonic Secretion
Bhattarai, Y., Williams, B. B., Battaglioli, E. J., Whitaker, W. R., Till, L., Grover, M., Linden, D. R., Akiba, Y., Kandimalla, K. K., Zachos, N. C., Kaunitz, J. D., Sonnenburg, J. L., Fischbach, M. A., Farrugia, G. & Kashyap, P. C., Jun 13 2018, In: Cell Host and Microbe. 23, 6, p. 775-785.e5Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
An exclusive metabolic niche enables strain engraftment in the gut microbiota
Shepherd, E. S., Deloache, W. C., Pruss, K. M., Whitaker, W. R. & Sonnenburg, J. L., May 17 2018, In: Nature. 557, 7705, p. 434-438 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Tunable Expression Tools Enable Single-Cell Strain Distinction in the Gut Microbiome
Whitaker, W. R., Shepherd, E. S. & Sonnenburg, J. L., Apr 20 2017, In: Cell. 169, 3, p. 538-546.e12Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Design and implementation of a biomolecular concentration tracker
Hsiao, V., De Los Santos, E. L. C., Whitaker, W. R., Dueber, J. E. & Murray, R. M., Feb 20 2015, In: ACS Synthetic Biology. 4, 2, p. 150-161 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Avoidance of truncated proteins from unintended ribosome binding sites within heterologous protein coding sequences
Whitaker, W. R., Lee, H., Arkin, A. P. & Dueber, J. E., Mar 20 2015, In: ACS Synthetic Biology. 4, 3, p. 249-257 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Engineering robust control of two-component system phosphotransfer using modular scaffolds
Whitaker, W. R., Davis, S. A., Arkin, A. P. & Dueber, J. E., Oct 30 2012, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 109, 44, p. 18090-18095 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Metabolic pathway flux enhancement by synthetic protein scaffolding
Whitaker, W. R. & Dueber, J. E., 2011, In: Methods in enzymology. 497, p. 447-468 22 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Toward scalable parts families for predictable design of biological circuits
Lucks, J. B., Qi, L., Whitaker, W. R. & Arkin, A. P., Dec 2008, In: Current Opinion in Microbiology. 11, 6, p. 567-573 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review