Research  

Research in the Department of Microbiology is conducted by graduate students, postdoctorals, undergraduate students, research assistants, and professors, often working side-by-side in laboratories.

RESEARCH AREAS

Microbes in the environment and their contributions to ecosystems

Jerri Bartholomew Salmon diseases, fish parasites

Peter Bottomley Soil microbiology

Theo W. Dreher, Toxic cyanobacterial blooms and cyanophages 

Katharine G. Field Environmental contamination by pathogenic bacteria

Stephen Giovannoni Systems biology of a small ocean bacterium

Michael L. Kent Fish disease, parasitology

Janine E. Trempy Monitoring pathogenic bacteria in fish hatcheries

Microbes as pathogens

Research programs in the department investigate viral, bacterial, and parasitic pathogens afflicting a wide variety of hosts, including fish, plants, insects, mammals, and humans.

Jerri Bartholomew Salmon diseases, fish parasites

Luiz E. Bermudez Tuberculosis and related infections

Theo W. Dreher   Molecular biology of positive strand RNA viruses

Katharine G. Field Environmental contamination by pathogenic bacteria

Bruce L. Geller Antisense antibiotics

Dennis Hruby Vaccinia virus and anti-smallpox drugs

Michael L. Kent Fish disease, parasitology, pathogens of zebra fish

Malcolm B. Lowry Innate immunology

Walt Ream Agrobacterium as a plant pathogenic bacterium

George F. Rohrmann Insect virology, baculoviruses and retroviruses

Mahfuzur R. Sarker Clostridium perfringens toxins and spores

Martin Schuster Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenesis

Janine E. Trempy Biosensor detection of bacterial pathogens

College of Veterinary Medicine Faculty 

Morrie Craig  Plant toxins
Ling Jin  Virology, herpes viruses
Claudia Hase  Bacteriology, vibriosis
Manoj Pastey  Immunology, virology
Dan Rockey  Bacteriology chlamydia

Molecular mechanisms of microbial action

Research programs that utilize biochemical, molecular biological or cell biological approaches include:

Luiz E. Bermudez Tuberculosis and related infections; immunopathology

Peter Bottomley Nitrogen cycling and organopollutant degradation

Theo W. Dreher Translation, replication and encapsidation of viral RNA

Bruce L. Geller Antisense inhibition of bacteria

Stephen Giovannoni Systems biology of a small ocean bacterium

Dennis Hruby Vaccinia virus proteinases and proteomics

Walt Ream Agrobacterium and DNA delivery into plant cells

George F. Rohrmann DNA replication of baculoviruses; viral fusion proteins

Mahfuzur R. Sarker Clostridium sporulation and toxin genes

Martin Schuster Quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Janine E. Trempy Regulatory proteases and bacterial crisis management systems

Physiology, ecology and environmental microbiology

Research programs that study microbial communities and ecology include:

Peter Bottomley Soil microbiology

Katharine Field Microbial contamination in water; coevolution

Stephen Giovannoni Ecology and physiology of open ocean bacteria