Aisha Burton

Aisha Burton is a Provost New Faculty Fellow (2024 - 2026) and an incoming NIH Cornell Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology (2026). She earned her B.A. in Liberal Arts and Sciences with a concentration in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2012. Following this, Aisha spent a transformative year as a NIGMS Post-Baccalaureate Fellow (MU-PREP) under the mentorship of Dr. Judy Wall at the University of Missouri. In 2019, she successfully obtained her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Indiana University, mentored by Dr. Dan Kearns. Prior to joining Cornell, Aisha served as a postdoctoral fellow, generously supported by the NIGMS Postdoctoral Research Associate Training (PRAT) Program, collaborating with Dr. Gisela Storz at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Services (2019 - 2023).

Research Focus

My research focuses on elucidating the mechanisms by which small proteins, approximately 50 amino acids in length, contribute to the regulation of stress responses in bacteria, with a particular emphasis on E. coli and B. subtilis. The core of our investigations lies in understanding the role of these small proteins in modulating two-component systems, essential sensory and adaptive mechanisms that respond to diverse external stimuli.

Area of Expertise

• Bacterial Transcription
• Molecular Bacteriology
• Small Proteins 

Graduate Fields

• Microbiology

Awards & Honors

Provost New Faculty Fellow 2024 - 2026

Publications

For a list of publications, please visit the Google Scholar Page