a faculty member holds up a dish with blue light being shone through it

Microbiology

Our faculty teach a wide portfolio of microbiology courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. We also serve as the home department for the Graduate Field of Microbiology (with over 40 affiliated faculty members) and provide a center of expertise for numerous aspects of microbial biology. Research within our department is focused on prokaryotic molecular biology and environmental microbiology.

Latest News

An illustration using figures called “similarity trees,” used to infer the evolution of enzyme components essential to transposons, or “jumping genes,” functioning.

News

Bacterial ‘jumping genes’ can target and control chromosome ends

Researchers identified several families of "jumping genes," or transposons, in cyanobacteria and Streptomyces that can find and insert themselves at the telomere, with benefits for the transposon and their bacterial host.

  • Microbiology
  • Evolution
  • Genetics
A man smiling in a sunny lab

News

Scott Emr awarded 2024 Horwitz Prize for discovering ESCRT pathway

“This award places Scott Emr in the company of many of the top figures in molecular biology and biomedical sciences from the past 50 years.”

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
Yu Jiang operates a research drone with a graduate student.

News

Harnessing AI for ag research: CALS seed grants support Roadmap to 2050
CALS’ Research and Innovation Office is offering $10,000-$50,000 awards to support proposal development, patent or technology development, commercialization or community uses of AI.
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station
  • Agriculture Sciences Major
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