Wang is an applied microbiologist, working at the interface between microbial genetics and metabolic engineering to develop new microbial production processes.

Penton is a microbial ecologist whose research focuses on the impacts of plant disease, climate change, and agricultural management on the soil microbiome, encompassing both bacteria and fungi.

Jacobs is an expert on a poxvirus called vaccinia. He has genetically engineered vaccinia as a vehicle against infectious agents, bioterrorism threats, cancer and other viruses, including HIV.

Associate Research Professor J. Charles Chapuis screens labs of potential new anticancer drugs from marine, insect, and plant natural products; manages microbiology laboratories, and works on drug discovery.

Rajeev Misra is a microbial geneticist who studies how proteins, synthesized in the cytoplasm, are targeted to the bacterial outer membrane. He also examines the mechanisms of drug resistance.

Garcia-Pichel is the Director of the Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics. He studies the roles, adaptations and impacts of microbes in natural environments, from desert soils to shallow marine waters.

Yixin Shi’s research is focused on molecular biology, bacteriology and biochemistry. Shi analyzes the virulent elements necessary for bacterial survival in host environments.

Dr. Nickerson studies the effects of biomechanical forces on microbial and human cells on Earth and in space, how this response is related to normal homeostasis or disease, and translation to biomedical/biotech applications.