# @oberlincollege on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DIDMCC8IGeA
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/30503379-oberlincollege-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/eb065d8464.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-04-05T03:28:46.000+00:00

## Caption

Bacteria are everywhere you go. In the case of Caulobacter crescentus—the funky, crescent-shaped star of a recent paper by Assistant Professor of Biology Gaybe Moore ’15 —this is no exaggeration. It’s in the soil, in the water, and around your plants, and it surprisingly produces the world’s stickiest superglue as a biofilm.

“For the longest time folks haven’t really paid that much attention to it except for it being this really quirky bacteria,” Moore says, noting that scientists were originally interested in Caulobacter for its unusual crescent shape. In order to help biologists better understand all of the surprising features of Caulobacter—for example, although it’s generally considered a non-pathogen, it’s caused infections in immunocompromised patients—Moore built a library of Caulobacter mutants for researchers to study.

Going forward, Moore’s lab at Oberlin—called The Gaybe Lab—is branching out to find and study other bacteria considered low-level pathogens. “We need to study these so if they become a problem in the clinic or in the world, then we already know a lot about them,” Moore says. In 2024, five students collected bacteria from places all over the Oberlin campus and are zeroing in on a unique specimen to study, working alongside three other students focused on public health analysis. This connection across typically disparate research disciplines reflects Moore’s interest in public health and the social determinants that impact infections—and their skill in creating community to impact change.

To learn more about Moore's work, read the feature from the Oberlin Research Review, linked in our bio!
✏️: Dyani Sabin ‘14
🎨: @kelseydake

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## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| oberlincollege | @oberlincollege | https://gondola.cc/oberlincollege | University |
| Lucy Curtis | @1ucyyy | https://gondola.cc/1ucyyy | Social Media Coordinator |

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