The Goley Lab is part of the Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. We are a bacterial cell biology lab broadly interested in understanding how bacterial cells grow and adapt in different environments. We use cell biological, biochemical, genetic, and structural approaches to dissect cellular processes with the aim of understanding how they work in molecular detail. A detailed understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of bacterial growth is required to confront the growing crisis in antibacterial resistance. 

We maintain a welcoming and supportive lab environment, and we respect and value the contributions and experiences of everyone in the lab. Erin is committed to individualized and intentional mentoring for each lab member.

Recent News

July 2026: Aayush and Ariel joined us as summer high school research scholars. Welcome Aayush and Ariel! 

July 2026: Trung's review on cell polarity in bacterial pathogens and predators is out in Current Opinion in Microbiology. Congrats Trung! 

Oct 2025: We welcomed Justyne Ogdahl to the lab for postdoctoral work after she completed her PhD with Peter Chien at UMass-Amherst. Welcome to the Goley Lab (and TeamCaulo) Justyne! 😀👋

Oct 2025: We made a small contribution to this nice work from the Voss lab on how Rickettsias escape the phagocytic vacuole. Congrats to Andrew and Mathilde who contributed mutants, and to the entire team! 📃

Sept 2025: Haoyang has officially joined the lab for his thesis research. 🥳

Aug 2025: Haoyang Luo joined us from the BMB program for a rotation. We're excited to have you Haoyang!

Jul 2025: We are excited to officially join the Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics at JHU! 🧬

Apr 2025: As of July 1, the Department of Biological Chemistry at Johns Hopkins will be closed and its members integrated into other departments in the IBBS. The BC department has been an incredibly supportive and collegial environment for us to do our science in over the past 14 years and, to say the least, we're sad to see it go. On the ☀️ side, we're excited about our new home in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, where we have many friends and colleagues and look forward to building further connections.  

Recent publications

Funding