Microbial Biotechnology Faculty
Learn more about this group by contacting Dr. Christine Szymanski (cszymans@uga.edu) or Dr. Stephen Trent (strent@uga.edu).
Microbes play critical roles in our biology and the ecosystem that we live in. Since this diverse group of microorganisms has been in existence for much longer than we have, they represent an untapped resource of unique enzymes and systems for exploitation. Members of the Microbial Biotechnology Interest Group use microbial genetics, laboratory evolution, glycoengineering and synthetic biology to develop new and improved vaccines and adjuvants for use in medicine, food microbiology, biofuels, fermentation and other industrial processes.
Adams, Michael
Michael Adams Distinguished Research Professor Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Functional and structural genomics, metabolism and enzymology of organisms that grow near 100C. Website
Eiteman, Mark
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
Garfinkel, David
David Garfinkel Professor Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Retrovirus-like transposons in budding yeast, control of transposition, restriction factors. Website
Handa, Hitesh
Hitesh Handa Associate Professor Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Sciences Translational research in biomaterials (antifouling, antiplatelet, antibacterial, and antiviral) for tissue engineering and medical device applications Website
Hoarfrost, Adrienne
Adrienne Hoarfrost Assistant Professor, Marine Sciences Department Marine microbiology; carbon cycling and biogeochemistry; AI/machine learning for biology; bioinformatics; astrobiology; space biology; marine biotech. Website
Lafontaine, Eric
Eric Lafontaine Professor ILS Graduate Coordinator Infectious Diseases Bacterial pathogenesis; role of adhesins in virulence; vaccine development. Website
Logue, Catherine M.
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
Maier, Rob
Rob Maier Professor Microbiology Physiology and metallobiology of pathogenic bacteria. Website
Momany, Cory
Cory Momany Associate Professor Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Sciences X-ray crystallography of macromolecules, prokaryotic transcriptional regulators. Website
Neidle, Ellen
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
Szymanski, Christine
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
Terns, Michael
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
Trent, M. Stephen
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
Westpheling, Janet
Janet Westpheling Professor Genetics Molecular genetics of Steptomyces metabolic developmental processes; enhanced biofuel product by bacteria. Website
