Dante Dullas on Discovery, Drug Development, and the Research Community That Fuels His Work

When MD/PhD candidate Dante Dullas discusses his research, what emerges most clearly is a scientist driven by curiosity, rigor and a deep appreciation for the collaborative environment that shapes his work.

Deeply involved in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Stony Brook University's Renaissance School of Medicine, Dullas is advancing a line of inquiry with real potential to reshape how physicians approach bacterial infections. His work centers on understanding and disrupting the molecular machinery that enables uropathogenic E. colito cause urinary tract infections, one of the most common bacterial infections in the world.

His path to Stony Brook began on the West Coast, where he completed a BS in chemistry and an MS in biology at Stanford. A formative undergraduate research experience helped solidify his dual commitment to scientific discovery and clinical practice.

"I felt torn between being only a physician or only a scientist," he said. "I wanted to treat patients, but I also felt drawn toward teaching, mentoring and discovery." Conversations with mentors and MD-PhD trainees convinced him that a combined program was the right fit, and Stony Brook's balance of chemistry-forward and biology-forward research made it stand out.

Today, Dullas conducts his doctoral work in the laboratory of David Thanassi, whose group investigates how E. colibuild hairlike fibers called pili that allow the bacteria to adhere to host cells. Pili formation is central to infection, and the Thanassi Lab has spent years uncovering its molecular assembly through the chaperone-usher pathway. Dullas's projects extend this work into drug development.

"The best part of my job as a faculty member is mentoring students like Dante," Thanassi said. "Dante exemplifies the combined clinical and basic research emphasis of the MD/PhD dual degree program and has brought great insights to the lab. It has been a real pleasure watching Dante push his project forward and apply his detailed molecular approach to a goal that we hope will have real clinical impact."

"I have two main arms to my research," Dullas explained. "One is developing assays to screen for new drugs that inhibit protein-protein interactions required for pili assembly. The other is trying to understand how an existing drug affects this pathway at a molecular level." That existing drug, nitazoxanide, is an FDA-approved antiparasitic that the lab discovered also interferes with pili formation across a broad range of Gram-negative bacteria. Dullas is working to determine how the compound targets a key protein complex involved in assembling the pili machinery, work that could support future optimization and therapeutic development.

Much of this effort is grounded in what he describes as the "chemical lens" through which he views biology. Trained first in a biophysical chemistry laboratory, he approaches biological systems with a reductionist mindset that he believes makes chemistry uniquely powerful. "Chemistry sits between physics and biology," he said. "It integrates the math and the physical rules of how molecules behave with the complexities of living systems."

That perspective shapes both his approach to problem-solving and his commitment to foundational discovery. "Without basic science research, there is no starting point," he said. "You can't design drugs or understand disease if you don't first understand how molecules work."

Equally important to his scientific trajectory is the research ecosystem that surrounds him. As a graduate student, he has found the combination of independence and support critical. He describes the MSTP administration as "super approachable" and credits the Microbiology faculty and staff for fostering a collaborative culture.

"Everyone is on a first-name basis," he said. "The environment is warm, and the research infrastructure has everything I need." Access to shared equipment, ongoing investments in new instrumentation, and proximity to Brookhaven National Laboratory have also strengthened his work. "There's always a new machine coming in or being demoed. The capacity here is high."

The MSTP itself has shaped the way he thinks about his future as a clinician-scientist. While much of his research is rooted in basic science, he regularly encounters translational work through peers in the program. "I'm always absorbing how people in other fields investigate clinical problems," he said. "It has shown me that any research can be impactful."

His clinical interests, which currently tilt toward surgical specialties, reflect the same openness. "I have to go into it with an anything-is-possible mentality," he said.

That ethos extends beyond the lab. A longtime musician who once trained as a flutist, Dullas draws connections between creativity in the arts and creativity in science. "I'm motivated by creation in all parts of my life," he said. "Sometimes you need wild ideas, and you learn that from artistic practices."

Dullas believes that creative expression helps sustain scientists during the long, uncertain stretches of graduate training. "Moments of creative work let you feel things and stay grounded," he added.

Above all, he hopes that people outside the research world understand the persistence and intellectual resilience required to push science forward. "Graduate research takes a long time, and you have to be okay with failure," Dullas said. "Most discoveries are made by people in their twenties who are reading constantly, troubleshooting constantly, and dedicating years to pushing a question forward."

For Dullas, those years at Stony Brook are shaping his skill set and clarifying the purpose behind his work. He is committed to advancing fundamental understanding in ways that eventually lead to better tools for clinicians and improved outcomes for patients. And he is confident that the environment around him is the right place to pursue it.