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John A. Crawford, B.S.
Contact: Department of Physiology & Biophysics
University of Mississippi Medical Center
2500 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39216
Email address: jacrawford@umc.edu
Education
Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology (Pending) December 2026
University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
Dissertation: Population Genomics of MRSA Strain Dispersal
Advisor: Dr. Ashley Robinson
Committee: Dr. Mary Marquart, Dr. Lance Keller, Dr. Eric Vallender, Dr. Ryan Garrick
B.S. Microbiology, Minor Bioinformatics December 2019
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Research Experience
Graduate Student Researcher 2020-2026
University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
Supervisor: Dr. Ashley Robinson
- Investigating the population structure, dispersal, and pangenomic consequences of dispersal of two epidemic MRSA strains
Undergraduate Researcher May-December 2020
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Department of Microbiology and Cell Sciences
Supervisor: Dr. Kelly Rice
- Investigation of nos gene regulation in pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus strains
Undergraduate Researcher March 2018-May 2020
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Department of Microbiology and Cell Sciences
Supervisor: Dr. Jim Maruniak
- Characterization and sequencing of novel Burkhoderia spp. bacteriophage
Work Experience
Postdoctoral Research Fellow August 2026-Present
University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Supervisor: Dr. Erin Taylor
Graduate Assistant August 2020–August 2026
University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
Supervisor: Dr. Ashley Robinson
- Conducting research in molecular microbiology with primary focus on bacterial population genomics
- Formulated primary research questions and designed empirical studies of underlying population structure of two co-circulating MRSA strains and their geographic dispersal
- Sequencing and analysis of bacterial genomes using Illumina and Nanopore platforms
- Development of bioinformatics workflows and analyses, including automation on supercomputing clusters
- Assisting with data generation, document preparation, and image creation for grant submission and collaborative publication
- Teaching and mentoring students in both laboratory and bioinformatics techniques