Microbiology Faculty

Diana Downs Distinguished Research Professor Microbiology Bacterial physiology and metabolic integration using biochemical, genetic and metabolomics approaches. Website

Mark A. Eiteman Professor Microbiology Fermentation and biotechnology with emphasis on microbial processes to generate fuels and chemicals; nutrient-limited processes; central metabolism and the effect of redox constraints. Website

Courtney Ellison Assistant Professor Microbiology Bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation, dynamics of bacterial nanomachines, microbial subcellular organization. Website

Jorge Escalante-Semerena UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor Microbiology Prokaryotic metabolism and physiology with emphasis on protein acetylation, toxic metabolites, and complex metabolic pathway analysis, integration. Website

Jonathan Frye Research Microbiologist Microbiology We investigate the development and spread of antimicrobial resistant Salmonella, which is the most prevalent foodborne bacterial illness in the U.S. Website

Tim Hoover Professor Microbiology Gene regulation in bacteria; regulation of flagellar biogenesis; control of RpoN-dependent transcription in bacteria. Website

Anna Karls Associate Professor Microbiology Mechanisms for microbial adaptation and virulence; specialized DNA recombination in Neisseria meningitidis & N. gonorrhoeae; sigma54 regulon in Salmonella Typhimurium. Website

Brian Kvitko Associate Professor Microbiology Molecular mechanisms of plant immune action and bacterial pathogen virulence in model and crop pathosystems. Tool/technique development for phytopathogenesis systems biology and translational research. Website

Zachary Lewis Associate Professor Microbiology Chromatin structure and function; Epigenetics; Eukaryotic genome stability; Histone H1. Website

Xiaorong Lin Professor Microbiology; Plant Biology Human fungal pathogens, sexual reproduction and development in fungal pathogenesis Website

Erin K. Lipp Professor Microbiology Environmental microbiology, microbial ecology, marine systems, water quality and public health, disease ecology Website

Catherine M. Logue Professor Microbiology A bacterial pathogenesis/food safety lab that specializes in the detection and characterization of pathogens from food animal sources that impact human and animal health. Website

Rob Maier Professor Microbiology Physiology and metallobiology of pathogenic bacteria. Website

Aaron P. Mitchell Professor Microbiology We use genetic and genomic approaches to understand mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis and drug resistance. Website

Jan Mrázek Associate Professor Bioinformatics; Microbiology Use bioinformatics and comparative genomics to study relationships between the genomic DNA sequence and the organism’s physiological characteristics,and regulatory processes that govern the flow of genetic information. Website

Ellen Neidle Professor Microbiology We use the easy genetic system of a  soil bacterium, Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1,to study diverse aspects of gene expression and chromosomal rearrangements.This research has implications for medical issues (gene amplification), environmental issues (bioremediation), biotechnology/bioenergy (conversion of lignin to biofuels), and evolution (new methods for experimental evolution). Website

Elizabeth Ottesen Assistant Professor Microbiology Ecology and physiology of environmental microbes. The use of community genomics and transcriptomics to examine microbial behavior in natural systems. Website

Nikki Shariat Assistant Professor Population Health; Microbiology Molecular epidemiology of bacterial pathogens using metagenomics; ecology of Salmonella serovars in host animals and environments. Website

Anne Summers Professor Microbiology; Toxicology Environmental stress biology, using biochemical, biophysical, and ‘omics approaches to define the roles of toxic metal exposure in chronic and infectious diseases. Website

Christine Szymanski Professor Microbiology Microbial glycobiology lab characterizing bacterial glycoconjugate pathways, bacteriophage interactions with their hosts, and benefits of human milk oligosaccharides to develop novel vaccines and therapeutics for the prevention of diarrheal diseases and post-infectious neuropathies such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Website

Michael Terns Distinguished Research Professor Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Genetics; Microbiology We study CRISPR-Cas immune systems that protect prokaryotes from viruses and provide powerful research tools for important biotechnology and biomedical applications. Website

M. Stephen Trent UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor Infectious Diseases Characterizing the assembly of bacterial surface structures, Development of vaccines for viral and bacterial pathogens, Systems approaches to understanding microbial diseases Website