Olaf Boedtker Award Given to Alex Beck

February 14, 2020. The COS Awards ceremony presented Alex Beck, BHS Advisor, the 2020 Olaf Boedtker Award for Excellence in Academic Advising. There was a large field of candidates for this award and the nominations come from students so it is quite an honor to be the recipient. Congratulations Alex!

Dr. Kim Halsey receives SciRIS-II Award

JANUARY 2020: Congratulations to Kim Halsey, who received support from the College of Sciences under the SciRIS-II program. Her project, titled " Predicting the trajectory of toxic harmful algal blooms using multi-omits data integration", will use innovative statistical approaches to merge aquatic microbiome data with environmental properties and chemical[...]

Behavioral Disorders in Children Tied to Gut Bacteria

The study published this week in mBio (Gut Feelings Begin in Childhood: The Gut Metageome Correlates with Early Environment, Caregiving, and Behavior. 2020. J.E. Flannery, K. Stagaman, A. Burns, R. Hickey, L. Roos, R. Giuliana, P. Fisher and T.J. Sharpton; mBio DOI 10.1128.) out of U of O and OSU[...]

OSU Researchers ID Bacteria That Targets Coral Reefs

Researchers at Oregon State University have proposed a new genus of bacteria that flourishes when coral reefs become polluted, siphoning energy from the corals and making them more susceptible to disease. The NSF-funded study is published in the ISME Journal (Phylogenetic, genomic, and biogeographic characterization of a novel and ubiquitous[...]

Da Vinci Days for Micro

The Microbiology Graduate Student Association showed up in force at Corvallis Da Vinci Days 2019. Grad students helped kids make take-home Winogradsky columns to illustrate the microbes inhabiting the local riverbanks. Microscopes enabled kids to peek at dog hair, Staphylococcus bacteria, red blood cells, and other microscopic organisms. [...]

Jessica Scotten and Space Research

Jessica Scotten , Microbiology senior, is using her microbiology knowledge and skills at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After her internship at NASA and she will pursue her Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Florida. She hopes to develop solutions for the health risks spaceflight poses due to[...]

WIPEOUT RADIO

In this audio clip, Department of Microbiology grad student Katie McConnell, interviews Distinguished Professor Steve Giovannoni and Research Associate Adam Schneiderhan about a recent problem they encountered while investigating oxygen minimum zones that form on the Oregon Coast. Steve and Adam describe their "wipeout" on Katie's show "Wipeout Radio".

Grad Scholarship and Fellowship Awards

Microbiology celebrated our 2019-20 Graduate Student Scholarship and Fellowship Awards on June 5. Congratulations to W.Wang, J. Buser, Q. Washburn, P Singla, H. Delgado, K. McConnell, P. Smith, D. Barrett and J. Joseph!

Gut Bacteria and Human Health

Dr. Thomas Sharpton (Microbiology) and Ph.D. Student Courtney Armour are looking at which organisms are in the microbiome and also what functions they are performing. Published in mSystems.

Grant to study link between microbiome, autism

OSU microbiologist, Dr. Maude David, is part of a 1.94 million grant to look for possible connections between the human microbiome and autism spectrum disorder, a developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior. The study will include Stanford University School of Medicine and Second Genome. Additional Information

After Klamath River flushes, fish parasite spores spike

Herald and News : Flows are used to control a salmon disease caused by the parasite Ceratonova shasta . According to Sascha Hallett, microbiology senior research associate, the purpose of the flushing flows is to mobilize sediment and reduce polychaete worm (invertebrate host of C. shasta ) populations, thereby reducing[...]

Presidential Scholar

Jordyn Hamilton is an Honors BioHealth Sciences student with a focus on pre-medicine. She received the university's most competitive, merit-based scholarship for in-state undergraduates, the Presidential Scholarship. This scholarship covers four years tuition and awards a total of $40,000.

Sushi and parasitic jellyfish

Microscopic Parasitic Jellyfish Discovered in Marine Worms (and Sushi). Imagine a jellyfish stripped down to its bare essentials: a microscopic blob of cells with stingers. They might be small but they have everything they need to be successful as parasites. These Myxozoans are common in fish and can[...]

Dr. Sharpton receives Phi Kappa Phi Award

Dr. Thomas Sharpton has received the Phi Kappa Phi Emerging Scholar Award . This award recognizes early career faculty for outstanding research or creative activity in their field of study.

Marine Microbial Board Game

Microbiology graduate student Quinn Washburn developed a board game called Oligotrophic designed to help students understand the microbial ecology of the oceans and movement of biomass. Marine microbes live extraordinary lives of their own, albeit ones fraught with danger and opportunity.

Dr. Sharpton wins Emerging Scholar Phi Kappa Phi Award

Phi Kappa Phi Emerging Scholar Award The OSU chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi established the Emerging Scholar Faculty Award in order to recognize early career faculty for outstanding research or creative activity in his or her field of study. Dr. Thomas Sharpton, Department of Microbiology and[...]

Honoring the Moments that Changed a Life

James Winton (Ph.D. ’81) remains grateful for how a single microbiology course changed his life. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, Winton arrived on campus in the winter of 1971-2 to take some pre-med courses. His first microbiology class struck a spark, and[...]

OSU Works to Make Oysters Healthier

Scientists at OSU, including Dr. Ryan Mueller, Microbiology, are investigating the effect of probiotics on the health of oyster larvae and their microbiome thanks to a grant from NOAA Sea Grant Program.

Micro senior undertakes neuroscience research in Spain

Micro undergrad student Julianna Donohoe, spent 10 weeks in Madrid, Spain at the Cajal Institute , a leading research center in neuroscience, where she assisted with research on Parkinson's Disease.

Novel Way of Classifying Microbes

"Gut microbes' role in mammals' evolution starts to become clearer." Postdoctoral researcher Chris Gaulke, graduate students Holly Arnold and Ian Humphreys, and Assistant Professor Thomas Sharpton (OSU Microbiology) led an international collaboration that resolved which of the trillions of gut microbes are linked to the evolution of mammals, including humans.

A Distinguished Career

Dr. Michael Kent, Microbiology, received the OSU Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award and the 2018 Agricultural Research Foundation Distinguished Faculty Award for his superior academic performance, professional renown and service to the University and the public.

Coral reef documentary at Darkside: "Saving Atlantis"

" Saving Atlantis ," a feature-length documentary on coral reefs produced by Oregon State University filmmakers, will be shown Aug. 31 through Sept. 6 at Darkside Cinema, 215 S.W. Fourth St., Corvallis. The first screening will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31. Filmmakers David Baker and Justin Smith of[...]

The Next Generation of Microbiologists

The Helen Alford Hays Microbiology Scholarship: "Prepare Your Minds," Dr. Charles Hays, a Canadian science journalist, advised students during the annual scholarship luncheon. He is the son of Helen Alford Hays, a long-time microbiology instructor and advisor from 1955-1981.

Dr. Bruslind Receives Open Education Award

Congratulations to Linda Bruslind for winning the 2018 Open Education Award . Dr. Linda Bruslind, Microbiology, senior instructor II and lead advisor in the Department of Microbiology in the College of Science received an award by Extended Campus for development of an online textbook, "Introduction to Microbiology". This online textbook[...]

Dynamic Duo Join Microbiology

Dr. Maude David and Dr. Kenton Hokanson have recently joined the Department of Microbiology. Dr. David has a joint appointment in the College of Pharmacy and will focus on developing undergraduate curricula in bioinformatics. Dr. Hokanson is an instructor in Microbiology and BioHealth Sciences and will help develop an electrophysiology[...]

Statistical Innovations Help Decode the Human Microbiome

Dr. Yuan Jiang, Dr. Duo Jiang and Dr. Thomas Sharpton (Microbiology/Statistics) were awarded a prestigious four year $770K grant by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and NIH to study the human microbiome. This project will advance scientific understanding of the functions and operations of microbiomes by developing statistical[...]

Hanby Middle School Students Get Hands-On Lessons in Microbiology

Hanby Middle School students get hands on lessons in microbiology. Photos and Story by Christien Laber During a recent visit to OSU, the Hanby Girls STEM group interacted with members of the Department of Microbiology to learn about life at the microscopic level. As part of their two-day tour[...]

Journalist at Sea

NASA-NAAMES Mission : Dr. Kim Halsey, OSU Microbiologist, Dr. Cleo Martin-Davies, OSU Postdoc, and Dr. Luis Bolanos, OSU Postdoc are headed for the North Atlantic along with 29 other scientists are onboard the ATLANTIS on a research vessel operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The purpose to investigate the ocean[...]

Can Coral Microbes Protect Reefs from Climate Change?

Scientists are investigating the role microbiomes play in coral health, trying to identify those microbial traits that make coral reefs resilient as ocean temperatures rise and bleaching events accelerate. One group, the Global Coral Microbiome Project, led by OSU Microbiologist Dr. Rebecca Vega-Thurber is performing a global survey of reefs.[...]

A Cure for Coral Reefs

By pretty much any measure, Vega Thurber (Microbiologist, Oregon State University) (Becky, to anyone who's met her at least once) is a badass marine biologist. She weathers bouts of seasickness like an old salt: “Take Bonine twice a day,” she advises, before noting dispassionately that “sometimes you end up barfing[...]

Dr. Michael Kent Receives Zebrafish Award

Dr. Michael Kent was presented with the Outstanding Steward of Zebrafish Award by the Zebrafish Husbandry Association (ZHA) at the annual meeting at Aquaculture America 2018 in Las Vegas in recognition of his many years providing training and research in support of the health and welfare of laboratory zebrafish. The[...]

Oregon's "Blue Economy" Bolstered by Longstanding Partnership for Fish Health

Oregon's "Blue Economy" Bolstered by Longstanding Partnership for Fish Health : A longstanding and fruitful collaboration that benefits fish health and sustainable economic growth in Oregon was recently reinforced by a five-year, $404,000 renewal of the Fish Health Graduate Research Fellowship in Microbiology at Oregon State University by the Oregon[...]

SACNAS National Stem Conference

With help from the department, undergraduate Aimee Nguyen attended the SACNAS National Stem Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah in October. SACNAS stands for Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. This professional society's goal is to promote diversity and help minorities advance[...]

A Grand Unified Theory of Unhealthy Microbiomes

A microbiological version of the Anna Karenina principle is a new paradigm suggested by Dr. Rebecca Vega-Thurber, Dr. Jesse Zaneveld, and Graduate Student Ryan McMinds--one that has key implications for a more personalized approach to antibiotic therapy, management of chronic disease and other aspects of medical care. The principle gets[...]

Dog Aggression and the Microbiome

Nicole S. Kirchoff, Monique A.R. Udell and Thomas J. Sharpton, The Gut Microbiome Correlates with Conspecific Aggression in a Small Population of Rescued Dogs ( Canis familiaris ) Nicole gave a presentation on Utah Public Radio exploring the relationship between the aggressiveness of dogs and the microbes in their guts.

Diatoms Have Sex After All

New research shows a species of diatom, a single-celled algae, thought to be asexual does reproduce sexually, and scientists learned it's a common compound - ammonium - that puts the ubiquitous organism in the mood. The findings, published today in PLOS One , may be a key step toward greater[...]

Warming Temperatures could Trigger Starvation, Extinctions in Deep Oceans

Biodiversity in many of these areas is defined by the meager amount of food reaching the seafloor and over the next 80 plus years, in certain parts of the world, that amount of food will be cut in half, said Dr. Andrew Thurber, an OSU marine ecologist and co-author of[...]

New Phytoplankton Groups Favor Warmer Oceans

One of the phytoplankton lineages appears to be an entirely new group of phytoplankton. MBARI researchers, working with OSU's Stephen Giovannoni, concluded this single-celled protistan group took a separate evolutionary path from the haptophyte algae, which arose between 1 billion and 637 million years ago. Full Article

Crabs and the Deep Sea

Crabs Feed at Methane Seeps How a Flipping Crab Led Researchers to Discover that a Commercially Harvested Species Feeds at Methane Seeps Dr. Andrew Thurber, marine ecologist and microbiologist, has indicated this discovery will shift our understanding of the importance of the deep sea.

Coral Reefs in Crisis

A PARASITIC BACTERIUM SAPS ENERGY FROM CORALS. The bacterium is the first member of a newly identified genus, and was discovered during a study at the Caribbean staghorn coral microbiome by OSU microbiologist Rebecca Vega Thurber and her colleagues. LOCALIZED EFFORTS TO SAVE CORAL REEFS NOT ENOUGH Findings by researchers[...]

Parasitic Arsenic Cycle Shows Impact of Warmer Oceans

click below for FULL STORY! OSU study: Parasitic arsenic cycle shows impact of warmer oceans Research conducted in Sargasso Sea A newly discovered parasitic cycle, in which ocean bacteria keep phytoplankton on an energy-sapping treadmill of nutrient detoxification, may offer a preview of what further ocean warming[...]

Nash Hall Courtyard, photo D.P. Bayles

In late May the department celebrated the completion of the Nash Hall Courtyard project, which includes the Memorial Garden and the Willamette River sculpture; photo by David P. Bayles. Willamette River Sculpture The Willamette River is an integral part of the culture of our region. From its headwaters[...]