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Microbial Biology Graduate Faculty

Tamar Barkay, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. Maryland
Role of microorganisms in transformations of metals in the environment
(Dr. Barkay retired but can still serve on M.S. and Ph.D. committees)

Joan W. Bennett, Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology, SEBS; Ph.D. Chicago
Genetics and biosynthesis of fungal natural products; fungal genomics; fungal volatile organic compounds

Debashish Bhattacharya, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. Simon Fraser (Canada)
Algal evolution; genomics; endosymbiosis; red tides; plastids; tree of life

Kay D. Bidle, Professor of Marine & Coastal Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D. California (San Diego)
Microbial oceanography; algal ecophysiology; mortality; host-virus arms races and impacts on carbon cycling, export flux and sequestration; biogeochemistry; molecular evolution and ecology; blending molecular ecophysiology, biochemistry, and omics-enabled approaches with ocean-based fieldwork.

Martin Blaser, Professor of Medicine and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, RWJMS; Director, Center for Applied Biotechnology and Medicine; M.D. New York University School of Medicine
Human microbiome and biology of bacterial persistence in mammalian hosts

Juan Bonachela, Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, SEBS; Ph.D. University of Granada (Spain)
Theoretical biology; ecology and evolution of spatial and temporal patterns; ecological network dynamics; interactions ecology-evolution in microbes.

Jeffrey M. Boyd, Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. Utah State
Microbial biochemistry and molecular genetics; biofilm formation and disassembly, metal ion homeostasis, iron-sulfur protein maturation, and Staphylococcus aureus pathogenesis.

Yana Bromberg, Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. Columbia
Bioinformatics approaches to protein function prediction and genome variation analysis

Sara Campbell, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Health, SAS; Ph.D. Florida State
Exercise, cholesterol metabolism, obesity, functional foods and chronic disease

George M. Carman, Board of Governors Professor and Distinguished Professor of Food Science, SEBS; Ph.D. Massachusetts
Biochemistry, molecular genetics, and metabolism of membrane lipids

Theodore Chase, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. California (Berkeley)
Alcohol dehydrogenases and pyruvate decarboxylases; enzymology
(Dr. Chase retired but can still serve on M.S. and Ph.D. committees)

Michael Chikindas, Professor of Food Science, SEBS; Ph.D. Institute of Genetics and Selection of Industrial Microorganisms (Russia)
Microbiology; genetics; biotechnology; probiotics; antimicrobial peptides

Bruce B. Clarke, Professor Emeritus of Plant Biology, SEBS; Ph.D. Rutgers
Turfgrass pathology; soilborne diseases; disease forecasting and control; mycology
(Dr. Clarke retired but can still serve on M.S. and Ph.D. committees)

Lori Covey, Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, SAS; Ph.D. Columbia
Human immunoglobulin switch recombination in response to T cell-B cell interactions

Katherine Dawson, Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University
Geosciences/Biogeochemistry

G. Charles Dismukes, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, SAS; Ph.D. Wisconsin
Biological and chemical methods for renewable solar-based fuel production, catalysis, photosynthesis, metals in biological systems and tools for investigating these systems
PDF slide show

Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. University of Aberdeen, Scotland
Human microbiome structure and function, early development and effect of perturbations

Siobain Duffy, Professor of Ecology, Evolution, & Natural Resources, SEBS; Ph.D. Yale
Emerging viruses; experimental evolution; bioinformatics; bacteriophages; plant viruses

Richard H. Ebright, Board of Governors Professor of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, SAS; Ph.D. Harvard
Mechanism and regulation of bacterial transcription; small-molecule inhibitors of bacterial transcription

Nicole Fahrenfeld, Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, SoE; Ph.D. Virginia Tech
Waterborne pathogens, antibiotic resistance, microbial source tracking, water and wastewater treatment

Huizhou Fan, Professor of Pharmacology, RWJMS; Ph.D. University of Manitoba, Canada
Chlamydial biology with emphasis on host-microbial interaction and development of antiinfectives

Donna E. Fennell, Professor of Environmental Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D. Cornell
Microbial processes for bioremediation and waste management

Dina Fonseca, Professor of Entomology, SEBS; Director, Rutgers Center for Vector Biology NJAES; Ph.D. U. Pennsylvania
Ticks, mosquitoes, and the pathogens/parasites they transmit, biology, ecology, population genetics, epidemiology

Robert M. Goodman, University Professor. Distinguished Professor of Ecology, Evolution, & Natural Resources, SEBS. Executive Dean Emeritus. Ph.D. Cornell
Diversity and function of microorganisms in natural environments

Max M. Häggblom, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. Helsinki (Finland)
Environmental microbiology and microbial ecology; biodegradation and bioremediation

Bradley I. Hillman, Professor Emeritus of Plant Biology, SEBS; Ph.D. California (Berkeley)
Molecular, population, and evolutionary biology of viruses and fungi
(Dr. Hillman retired but can still serve on M.S. and Ph.D. committees)

Peter C. Kahn, Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. Columbia
Protein folding and subunit assembly; structure modeling; ligand interactions; hydration in biological systems
(Dr. Kahn retired but can still serve on M.S. and Ph.D. committees)

Lee Kerkhof, Professor of Marine & Coastal Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D. California (San Diego)
Marine microbiology; molecular ecology; microbial population dynamics

Lily Khadempour, Assistant Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Ecology and Evolution Group, Newark; Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison
Microbial ecology and symbiosis, with an emphasis on insect-microbial symbioses and eco-evolutionary dynamics

Eric Klein, Associate Professor of Biology, Camden; Ph.D. Pennsylvania
Bacterial sphingolipid metabolism; host-pathogen interactions; bacterial cell shape regulation

Donald Y. Kobayashi, Professor of Plant Biology, SEBS; Ph.D. California (Riverside)
Plant bacteriology; host-pathogen interactions; molecular biology

Jerome J. Kukor, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Sciences, SEBS, and SGS Dean Emeritus; Ph.D. Michigan
Biochemistry and genetics of microorganisms involved in biodegradation
(Dr. Kukor retired but can still serve on M.S. and Ph.D. committees)

Arek Kulczyk, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. University of Cambridge, UK
Cryo-EM structure determination and single-molecule studies of cancer-associated protein targets involved in synthesis and repair of human mitochondrial DNA. Development of novel correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) methods.

Adam Kustka, Associate Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Newark; Ph.D. Stony Brook
Phytoplankton trace metal physiology and biogeochemistry

Eric Lam, Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology, SEBS; Ph.D. California (Berkeley)
Programmed cell death; stress tolerance; microbe association with duckweeds

Kwangwon Lee, Associate Professor of Biology, Camden; Ph.D. Texas A&M
Circadian clock/light regulation; fungal genetics; fungal ecology; systems biology

Thomas Leustek, Professor of Plant Biology, SEBS; Ph.D. Rutgers
Molecular biology and biochemistry of sulfur and amino acid metabolism in microorganisms

Tina Liu, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D. Harvard
Mechanisms of microbial defense; CRISPR-associated signaling pathways; developing new tools for RNA detection and diagnostics

Zachery Lonergan, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. Vanderbilt
Microbial stress response mechanisms; small molecule biochemistry; nitric oxide sensing and reactivity; Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenesis

Desmond Lun, Professor of Computer Science, Camden; Ph.D. MIT
Synthetic biology; systems biology; biological signal processing; network science

Gediminas Mainelis, Professor of Environmental Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D. Cincinnati
Biological aerosols

Michael Manhart, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, RWJMS; Ph.D. Rutgers
Microbial communities, ecological and evolutionary dynamics, systems biology, modeling, microbial physiology

Karl Matthews, Professor of Food Science, SEBS; Ph.D. Kentucky
Genetic understanding of virulence and survival mechanisms of food-borne pathogens

Kenneth McKeever, Professor of Animal Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D. Arizona
Equine exercise and environmental physiology; neuroendocrine control of cardio-renal function

Peter J. Morin, Distinguished Professor of Ecology, Evolution, & Natural Resources, SEBS; Ph.D. Duke
Community ecology; Microbial ecology

Bryce E. Nickels, Professor of Genetics, SAS; Ph.D. Harvard
Mechanisms of transcription; regulation of bacterial gene expression

Peter Oudemans, Professor of Plant Biology, SEBS; Ph.D. California (Riverside)
Fungal plant diseases; population biology of fungi

Ines Rauschenbach, Associate Teaching Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. Rutgers
Pedagogy, learning, and assessment in undergraduate microbiology education

John R. Reinfelder, Professor of Environmental Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D. Stony Brook
Ecophysiology of marine phytoplankton, biogeochemistry of mercury and other trace elements, sulfur biogeochemistry and acid mine drainage

Diana E. Roopchand, Associate Professor of Food Science, SEBS; Ph.D. McGill University
Interactions between dietary components, gut microbiota, and intestinal epithelium

Jeffra K. Schaefer, Assistant Research Professor of Environmental Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D. Rutgers
Microbial biogeochemistry of toxic and essential trace metals; microbial ecology

Donald W. Schaffner, Distinguished Professor of Food Science, SEBS; Ph.D. Georgia
Predictive food microbiology; quantitative microbial risk assessment, handwashing and cross-contamination

Konstantin Severinov, Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D. Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
Genetic and biochemical analysis of RNA polymerases from E. coli and yeast; site-directed modification of proteins

Ann M. Stock, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, RWJMS; Ph.D. California (Berkeley)
Bacterial signal transduction; regulation of polysaccharide utilization by gut bacteria

Judith Storch, Distinguished Professor of Nutritional Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D. Columbia
Cellular lipid transport, structure and function of lipid transport proteins, intestinal lipid transport and systemic energy metabolism

Xiaoyang Su, Assistant Professor of Medicine, RWJMS; Ph.D. Cornell
Metabolomics, mass spectrometry, metabolic flux analysis

Paul Takhistov, Associate Professor of Food Science, SEBS. Ph.D. Notre Dame
Understanding the physico-chemical interactions between multiphase matrices with biotic and abiotic materials

Kimberlee Thamatrakoln, Associate Research Professor of Marine & Coastal Sciences, SEBS. Ph.D. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California (San Diego)
Phytoplankton molecular ecophysiology; host-virus interactions; molecular and biochemical basis for environmental sensing

Alvaro Toledo, Associate Professor of Entomology, SEBS. Ph.D. Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Understanding the role of cholesterol and fatty acids in membrane organization and pathogenesis of Borrelia burgdorferi. Fungi as a tool for tick biological control.

Nilgun E. Tumer, Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology, SEBS; Ph.D. Purdue
Molecular biology of plant viruses; virus replication; disease resistance; plant transformation; microbial and plant toxins, fragment based drug discovery against toxins, small molecule inhibitors

Andrew K. Vershon, Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D. MIT
Regulation of gene expression in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Costantino Vetriani, Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D.; Rome La Sapienza (Italy)
Deep-sea microbiology; extremophiles; molecular ecology; adaptations to extreme environments

James White, Professor of Plant Biology, SEBS; Ph.D. Texas
Fungal systematics; ecology of fungi; fungal-plant symbioses

Lori A. White, Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology; Ph.D. Dartmouth
Molecular mechanisms of xenobiotic-induced pathologies

Nancy A. Woychik, Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, RWJMS; Ph.D. Wisconsin
Bacterial pathogenesis; antibiotic resistance; antibiotic development; non-coding RNAs and bacterial infectious diseases
PDF slide show

Srujana Samhita Yadavalli, Assistant Professor of Genetics, SAS; Ph.D. Ohio State
Bacterial stress responses, mechanisms of gene expression regulation, and antimicrobial resistance

Jason Yang, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Biochemistry, & Molecular Genetics, NJMS; Ph.D. Virginia
Antimicrobial resistance, bacterial stress response, microbial metabolism, quantitative microbiology, systems biology, and synthetic biology

Nathan Yee, Professor of Environmental Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D. Notre Dame
Geomicrobiology and geochemistry

Lily Y. Young, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D. Harvard
Anaerobic microbial metabolism of contaminant chemicals; microbial biodegradation; bioremediation

Ning Zhang, Professor of Plant Biology, SEBS; Ph.D. Louisiana State
Fungal evolution, biodiversity and genomics; molecular detection of fungal pathogens on grass

Liping Zhao, Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. Nanjing Agricultural University
Gut microbiota in human nutrition and health

Gerben Zylstra, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry & Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D. Michigan
Molecular and biochemical analysis of biodegradation pathways using physiological and 'omic based approaches