The Herr laboratory is interested in mechanistic studies of cellular adhesion and receptor-mediated signaling in immunology and microbiology. The biological processes we are interested in include formation of biofilms by Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis, activation of immune responses by IgA and IgG antibodies, and adhesion of platelets to collagen. Each of these processes is dependent upon specific interactions between proteins on different cells, or between soluble proteins and cell-surface receptors. We primarily use a combination of X-ray crystallography and biophysical techniques including analytical ultracentrifugation and circular dichroism spectroscopy to study the relevant proteins.