My laboratory is interested in the mechanisms used by quiescent cells to survive stressful conditions, such as nutrient limitation with particular attention on how these strategies affect antibiotic sensitivity including the emergence of tolerance (“persisters”). We focus on the down-regulation of protein synthesis, with most recent work examining the nucleotide ppGpp and the protein Hibernation Promoting Factor which induces ribosome dimerization. Our work employs a range of techniques, ranging from genetics and physiology to in vitro biochemistry and single molecule biophysical studies.