Congratulations to Dr. Carolyn Ibberson on receiving an R35 Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award from the NIH! This $1.9 million grant will fund the investigation of microbial interactions to uncover mechanisms that prevent infection and support healing.

Thank you to Dr. Jim Cassat for speaking today as part of our fall seminar series! Dr. Cassat, a physician and researcher at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discussed how pathogens such as S. aureus survive and thrive within bone tissue to cause osteomyelitis.

A reminder that UTK Microbiology is hiring for two tenure-track faculty positions — one in quantitative plant-microbe interactions and another in microbial drivers of chronic disease. Review of applications begins November 21.

Thank you to Dr. Caroline Grunenwald for a great seminar talk! Dr. Grunenwald spoke to us about how bacteria respond to stress via post translational regulation.

Thank you to Dr. Christine Foreman for joining us as part of our Microbiology Fall Seminar Series! Dr. Foreman shared an insightful talk on “Cold-Active Biosurfactants: Chill Solutions for Microbial Survival,” highlighting how microbes adapt to life in extreme cold environments.

The Department of Microbiology at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville is now accepting applications for up to 10 graduate assistantships for fall 2026 admission!

Thank you to Dr. Jozef Nissimov for today's seminar! He spoke about his lab’s work using protein structure prediction to identify the function of cyanophage genes.

We’re hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Quantitative Microbe–Plant–Environment Interactions, starting Fall 2026!

We’re hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Microbial Drivers of Chronic Disease, starting Fall 2026!

Congratulations to Dr. Alex Truchon for a successful PhD defense!

Thank you, Dr. Melanie Hamon, for a fascinating seminar! She shared how Streptococcus pneumoniae leverages histone modification during infection

Thank you to Dr. Daniel Muratore for a captivating seminar talk this afternoon! He shared his work on connecting individual viruses all the way to global scales.

Thank you to Dr. Sean Gibbons for a great seminar on microbial community-scale metabolic models and their role in engineering human gut ecosystems! @gibbological.bsky.social

Congratulations to Dr. Carolyn Ibberson on receiving an NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA)! The Ibberson Lab will investigate metabolic interactions among microbes in complex host-associated communities, using a chronic wound model.

From bench to bedside—innovative research in our department is driving real impact. Dr. Lindsey Burcham’s collaboration with UT Medical Center connects lab-based studies of the vaginal microbiome to maternal and infant health outcomes. research.utk.edu/oried/2025/0...

Congratulations to Jennifer Baily on a successful PhD defense!

Congratulations to Tyler Myers on being named a 2025 Torchbearer! Myers will graduate with degrees in honors microbiology and neuroscience, with minors in public health and chemistry.

Thank you to Dr. Van Tyne from the University of Pittsburgh for a fantastic seminar talk on functional genomics and antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections!

Congratulations to Sayali Mulay on a successful PhD defense!

Micro in the news: artsci.utk.edu/microbial-ma... Steven Wilhelm @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social, Naomi Gilbert, & Gary LeCleir show how ocean microbial communities may avoid direct competition by taking up scarce nutrients at different times of the day! Publication: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Congratulations to Jake Shaffer on a successful PhD defense!

Congratulations to Stephen Lumsdaine for a successful MS thesis defense!

Congratulations to Sudan Maharjan on the successful thesis defense!

Join us in congratulating Dr. Alison Buchan @ab-knox.bsky.social, as well as our other UTK colleagues, Dr. Albrecht von Arnim, Dr. David White, & Dr. Susan Kalisz, for being named as 2024 AAAS Fellows! news.utk.edu/2025/03/27/f...