Our current research program is motivated by the global problems of infectious disease and antibiotic resistance. We investigate the chemistry and biology of small molecules, peptides, and proteins that participate in the human innate immune response and host/pathogen interaction, and contribute to microbial pathogenesis. In many projects, we emphasize how transition metals, and metal-ion chelators produced by either the host or microbe, contribute to these phenomena. Our experimental approach combines the techniques of inorganic and organic chemistries, biological chemistry, and microbiology.