Dr. Karl Thompson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology at Howard University. Dr. Thompson received his Ph.D. in Microbiology in 2006, whereby he executed his dissertation research under Dr. Susan Gottesman Distinguished Investigator at the National Institutes of Health. His dissertation project entailed the discovery of one of the first bacterial small RNAs regulated by envelope stress. Dr. Thompson then went on to pursue postdoctoral studies at VCU School of Medicine, whereby he was investigated the regulation of biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus and small RNAs of Porphyromonas gingivalis. He was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Microbiology Department in 2011. Since that time, he has successfully established an extramurally funded research program. His previous received funding includes: the National Institutes of Health, The Howard University Medical Alumni Association, and The Swedish Research Foundation. His research has focused on transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in Escherichia coli, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, and Staphylococcus aureus. His current focus is on the role of the epitranscriptome and codon bias in the regulation of stress response genes in E. coli, supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.