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 50 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.

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Aisha Burton landscape

Spotlight

Meet our faculty: Aisha Burton
Academic focus: Regulatory roles of bacterial microproteins Research summary: My research investigates how bacterial microproteins (100 amino acids or less) function as regulatory elements that tune core signaling and metabolic pathways. By...
  • Microbiology
Assorted bottles of penicillin

News

Turning penicillin into a lethal force against bacteria again

A new study reveals for the first time the metabolic changes that allow bacteria to survive high doses of penicillin, a classic β-lactam antibiotic. The study also uncovered a weakness in how the bacteria survive, which may help scientists find...

  • Microbiology
  • Disease
  • Medicine
Michael Scott Hopkins performs a microgravity experiment on the International Space Station

News

Microbes harvest metals from meteorites aboard space station

Researchers collaborated to study how those microbes extract platinum group elements from a meteorite in microgravity, with an experiment conducted aboard the International Space Station.

  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Microbiology
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