Director of Graduate Program: Professor Gerben Zylstra, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Foran Hall, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (848-932-6298)

Website: http://microbiology.rutgers.edu

Tamar Barkay, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D., Maryland
Role of microorganisms in transformations of metals in the environment

William J. Belden, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D., Dartmouth
Chromatin remodeling; circadian rhythms; noncoding RNA

Joan W. Bennett, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs; Ph.D., Chicago
Genetics and biosynthesis of fungal natural products; fungal genomics

Debashish Bhattacharya, Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, SEBS/IEOAS; Ph.D., Simon Fraser (Canada)
Algal evolution; genomics; endosymbiosis; red tides; plastids; tree of life

Kay Daniel Bidle, Professor of Marine Sciences, SEBS/IEOAS; Ph.D., California (San Diego)
Marine microbiology; microbial physiology and mortality, virology; gene expression; molecular ecology and evolution

Jeffrey M. Boyd, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D., Utah State
Microbial biochemistry and molecular genetics; iron-sulfur cluster metabolism and cellular processes

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

George M. Carman, Board of Governors Professor of Food Science, SEBS; Ph.D., Massachusetts
Molecular biology of phospholipid biosynthesis in yeast

Michael Chikindas, Associate 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 of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Director, Center for Turfgrass Science; Ph.D., Rutgers
Turfgrass pathology; soilborne diseases; disease forecasting and control; mycology

John Dighton, Professor of Marine and Coastal Sciences, SEBS; Professor of Biology, FAS-C; Director of the Pinelands Field Station; Ph.D., London
Role of fungi in nutrient dynamics in forest soils and impacts of pollution

G. Charles Dismukes, Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, SAS/WIM, and of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D., Wisconsin (Madison)
Microbial metabolism and renewable energy production

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

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

Nicole Fahrenfeld, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, SE; Ph.D., Virginia Tech
Environmental chemistry and environmental microbiology to promote water quality and sustainability

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

Robert M. Goodman, Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources; Executive Dean, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D., Cornell
Diversity and function of microorganisms in natural environments

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

Bradley I. Hillman, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Director for Research and Senior Associate Director, NJAES; Ph.D., California (Berkeley)
Molecular, population, and evolutionary biology of viruses and fungi

Peter C. Kahn, Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D., Columbia
Protein folding and subunit assembly; modeling, ligand interactions, and hydration in biological systems

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

Eric Klein, Assistant Professor of Biology, FAS-C; Ph.D., Pennsylvania
Bacterial pathogenesis and microbial adhesion

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

Jerome J. Kukor, Professor of Environmental Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D., Michigan
Biochemistry and genetics of microorganisms involved in biodegradation

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

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

Desmond Lun, Professor of Computer Science, FAS-C; Ph.D., Rutgers
Synthetic biology; systems biology; biological signal processing; network science

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

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

Peter J. Morin, Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, SEBS; Ph.D., Duke
Community ecology; microbial ecology

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

Robert A. Niederman, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SAS; Ph.D., Illinois
Structure, function, and assembly of energy-transducing membranes

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

John R. Reinfelder, Professor of Environmental Sciences, SEBS; Ph.D., SUNY (Stony Brook)
Trace element cycling and bioavailability; inorganic carbon acquisition in marine phytoplankton

Donald W. Schaffner, Professor of Food Science, SEBS; Ph.D., Georgia
Predictive food microbiology; quantitative microbial risk assessment

Ann M. Stock, Professor of Biochemistry, RWJMS/CABM/CINJ; Ph.D., California (Berkeley)
Structure and function of signal transduction proteins

Paul Takhistov, Professor of Food Engineering, SEBS; Ph.D., Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow)
Physico-chemical interactions between multiphase matrices with biotic and abiotic materials

Nilgun E. Tumer, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Purdue
Molecular biology of plant viruses; virus replication; disease resistance; plant transformation

Andrew K. Vershon, Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, WIM/SAS; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Regulation of gene expression in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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

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

Nancy A. Woychik, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RWJMS; Ph.D., Wisconsin
Bacterial pathogenesis

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

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

Ning Zhang, Associate Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology and of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D., Louisiana State
Population; evolutionary biology; molecular detection of fungi on grasses

Gerben Zylstra, Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D., Michigan
Molecular and biochemical analysis of biodegradation pathways

Associate Members of the Graduate Faculty