Update Your ProfileAcademic Title:
Professor
Primary Appointment:
University of Maryland School of Dentistry
Secondary Appointment(s):
Microbiology and Immunology
Additional Title:
Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, School of Dentistry
Email:
Location:
School of Dentistry, 9205
Phone (Primary):
410-706-3622
Phone (Secondary):
410-706-6112
Fax:
410-706-0193
Education and Training
Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1997-2002, Department of Medicine and Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Advisor: Dr. Samuel I. Miller
Postdoctoral Fellowship. 1996-1997, Myles H. Thaler Center for Retrovirus Research. Miles H. Thaler Post-Doctoral Fellow. Department of Microbiology. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. Advisor: Drs. Marie-Louise Hammarskjöld and David Rekosh
Ph.D., 1996, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia. Advisor: Dr. Marie-Louise Hammarskjöld. Major - Microbiology
M.A., 1988, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York. Advisor: Dr. Joseph M. Merrick. Major - Microbiology
B.S., State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, New York. Major –Microbiology/Chemistry
Biosketch
Robert (Bob) K. Ernst, Ph.D., is a Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis in the School of Dentistry and an Adjunct Professor the Department of Microbiology & Immunology in the School of Medicine. In the fall of 2008, I moved my laboratory from the University of Washington, Seattle, where I was a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a principal investigator with the Northwest Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research (NWRCE) to the University of Maryland. I received my B.S. from the State University of New York at Oswego (biology and chemistry), an M.A. from SUNY Buffalo (Microbiology), and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia (Microbiology) studying retroviral RNA transport, where I was also a fellow in the Myles H. Thaler Center for Retrovirus Research. Subsequently, I was a senior fellow at University of Washington in the laboratory of Samuel I. Miller (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) from 1997 – 2002 before joining the faculty in 2002.
https://www.dental.umaryland.edu/micropath/research/dr-robert-ernst-lab/
Highlighted Publications
Sorensen M, Chandler CE, Gardner FM, Ramadan, Knot PD, Leung LM, Farrance CE, Goodlett DR, Ernst RK, Nilsson E (2020) Rapid microbial identification and colistin resistance detection via MALDI‐TOF MS using a novel on‐target extraction of membrane lipids. Scientific Reports. Accepted for publication 11/2020
Liang T, Leung LM, Opene B, Fondrie WE, Lee YI, Chandler CE, Yoon SH, Doi Y, Ernst RK, Goodlett DR. (2019) Rapid microbial identification and antibiotic resistance detection by mass spectrometric analysis of membrane lipids. Anal Chem. 2018 Dec 20. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b02611. PMID: 30571097
Fondrie WE, Liang T, Oyler BL, Leung LM, Ernst RK, Strickland DK, Goodlett DR. (2018) Pathogen Identification Direct From Polymicrobial Specimens Using Membrane Glycolipids.Sci Rep. 8(1):15857. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-33681-8. PMID: 30367087
Leung LM, Fondrie WE, Doi Y, Johnson JK, Strickland DK, Ernst RK, Goodlett DR (2017) Identification of the ESKAPE pathogens by mass spectrometric analysis of microbial membrane glycolipids. Sci Rep. 7(1):6403. PMID: 28743946
Awards and Affiliations
2020 Dr. Paul and Mrs. Jean Corcoran Endowed Professorship
2019 Entrepreneur of the Year, University of Maryland - Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
2018 Dr. Mark E Shirtliff PhD Student Mentor Award, University of Maryland - Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
2017 Researcher of the Year, University of Maryland - Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
2016 Maryland Department of Commerce Life Award –UMB-JHU Pataigin – Lipid-based microbial diagnostic platform
2016 UMB-JHU Alliance Ventures award – Anti-sepsis therapeutics
2014 UMB-JHU Alliance Ventures award – Lipid-based bacterial diagnostic platform
2014 Exploratory Measurement Science Group, Scottish Instrumentation and Resource Centre for Advanced Mass Spectrometry Research Award
2006 Philip and Helen Fialkow Scholar Award, Outstanding Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, University of Washington
2002 Cited paper in Science Now (March 28, 2002), "Clue to cystic fibrosis lung infection"
1998-2001 Research Fellowship, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Grants and Contracts
2010-2014 Dental and Craniofacial Research Workforce T32 training grant, UM-SOD
2008-present Immunity and Infection T32 training grant, UM-SOD/SOM
2012-present Innate Immunity T32 training grant, UM-SOM
2020-present Vaccine T32 training grant, UM-SOM CVD