Our long-term goal is to develop more effective approaches for the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases caused by important foodborne bacterial pathogens. Over the past several years, we have revealed the first beta-lactam antibiotic receptor in Gram-negative bacteria that can trigger resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, elucidated how environmental factors influence bacterial pathogens’ virulence, identified novel mechanisms of histidine kinase activation and immune evasion by foodborne pathogens, and systematically elucidated the molecular interface between host and bacterial pathogens. We have three key research directions: Mechanism of antibiotic resistance and transmission; Molecular interface of environment-pathogen-host; Development of innovative approaches for treatment of infectious diseases.