Dr. Blair is broadly interested in energy-conversion processes in biology. He obtained his A.B. in Biological Chemistry from Princeton University and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Caltech.  After postdoctoral studies in Biophysics with Howard Berg, he joined the University of Utah faculty in 1991. His laboratory studies the structure and function of the bacterial flagellum, a nanometer-scale molecular motor that uses ion-gradient energy to turn at several hundred revolutions per second. Flagella provide the means of propulsion for many bacteria and contribute to the virulence of many pathogens. Flagellar motors can turn either clockwise or counterclockwise, and regulated reversals in direction are the basis for directed movement such as chemotaxis. A major effort in the laboratory is to understand the arrangement and functions of proteins that function in motor rotation and direction control. Related projects examine the regulatory mechanisms that dial down flagellar motility during the transition from motile to stationary (i.e., biofilm) state. Flagellar assembly involves an exceptionally rapid protein-secretion process, also energized by the membrane gradient. The export machinery contained in the flagellum is closely related to the ‘injectisome’ that functions in many gram-negative pathogens to inject virulence factors into host cells. The mechanism of this export process is also under study. Projects here are aimed at understanding the architecture of the trans-membrane cargo-conducting pore and the molecular events that harness proton movements to the export of cargo protein at a rate of several subunits per second. Biochemical and mutational approaches have revealed several important aspects of the mechanism; additional structural studies will form an important part of future work.