<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=Windows-1252">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Aptos;
panose-1:2 11 0 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Times New Roman \(Body CS\)";
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.apple-converted-space
{mso-style-name:apple-converted-space;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ligatures:none;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style>
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div class="WordSection1">
<div id="mail-editor-reference-message-container">
<div>
<div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black">From:
</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black">Jacquie Carota <jcarota@mit.edu><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Microbiology Hybrid Thesis Defense: Christopher Doering (Laub lab) 7/10/25 2 PM, 68-181</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The Microbiology Ph.D. Program is proud to announce the following Hybrid Thesis Defense:</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Ph.D. Candidate:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> Christopher Doering</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Research Advisor</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">: Prof. Mike Laub (Biology, HHMI)</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Thesis Defense Committee:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> Prof. Alan Grossman, Prof. Gene-Wei Li, and Prof
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Sophie Helaine (Harvard)</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Date:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> Thursday, July 10, 2025</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Time:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> 2:00 – 3:00 PM</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Location:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> MIT Building 68, Room 181, 31 Ames Street, Cambridge, MA 012139</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">Zoom:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><a href="https://mit.zoom.us/j/98391949213?pwd=g3qVqq3x78EePD49LPER97Z9uemIhH.1" title="https://mit.zoom.us/j/98391949213?pwd=g3qVqq3x78EePD49LPER97Z9uemIhH.1">https://mit.zoom.us/j/98391949213?pwd=g3qVqq3x78EePD49LPER97Z9uemIhH.1</a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Password:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> phage</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Title:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Anti-phage defense as a driver of molecular innovation</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Abstract:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Bacteriophages, or phages for short, pose a near-constant threat to the bacteria they infect. Billions of years of conflict has been a catalyzing force for the creation
of bacterial defenses systems and corresponding phage evasion strategies. To counter phage predation, bacteria have developed a vast diversity of enzyme chemistries and molecular sensing mechanisms whose study has produced new biotechnological tools and insights
into our own immune systems. For my thesis, I have investigated anti-phage defense mechanisms at multiple scales. I characterized the mechanism of action of the anti-phage defense system CmdTAC, a toxin-antitoxin-chaperone system that recognizes a viral structural
protein to activate a novel mRNA ADP-ribosyltransferase, thereby halting infection. Next, I examined the diversity and distribution of anti-phage mechanisms encoded by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>E. coli</i> lysogenic phages – phages capable
of integrating into and lying dormant within their bacterial hosts. This analysis uncovered overlooked classes of lysogenic phages harboring novel candidate defense systems, including one newly validated system with no detectable homology to previously known
mechanisms. Together, this work broadens our understanding of bacterial immune systems, expands the pool of known enzyme chemistries, and highlights areas where continued study can reveal additional mechanisms of anti-phage defense.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Jacquie Carota (CA-ROT-AH) she/her</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Academic Administrator</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">MIT Computational & Systems Biology PhD Program</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">MIT Microbiology PhD Program</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Room 68-120C</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">77 Massachusetts Ave.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Cambridge, MA 02139</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">617-324-4144</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">In office Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays 9AM-5PM</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Remote: Mondays & Wednesdays 9AM-5PM</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>