UW Microbiology Home
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Interspecies Interactions
The tiny obligate parasitic bacterium Southlakia epibionticum(yellow) cultured on its host bacterium, Actinomyces israelii (blue)
Image credit: Drs. Larry Gallagher and Joseph Mougous
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Cell Biology of Bacterial Infection
Listeria monocytogenes (green) interacting with macrophages (red/blue).
Credit: Michelle Reniere
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Bacterial Self-Organization
Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells that engage (magenta) or don’t (green) in collective behavior spontaneously self organize in cellular aggregates (3D image acquired by confocal laser scanning microscopy).
Credit: Jeffrey Carey and Matt Parsek
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Phage antagonize CRISPR-Cas Immunity
Cryo-EM structure of a phage-encoded anti-CRISPR protein (blue) in complex with the RNA-targeting CRISPR effector Cas13 (gray) and its guide RNA (red).
Credit: Alex Meeske
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Emergence of Highly Pathogenic Clones of Escherichia coli
Genetic typing of uropathogeic E. coli reveals strong association of some clones with high sensitivity or extreme resistance to multiple antibiotics.
Courtesy: Sokurenko Lab
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Quorum sensing in Vibrio fischeri
Lux genes coding for light production are activated by quorum sensing at high cell density. The light produced by the bacteria exposed the film for the image.
Courtesy: Greenberg Lab
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Pseudomonas aeruginosa in co-culture
Structural component of bacterial targeting type VI secretion system P. aeruginosa (green) assembled in presence of competitor organism (red).
Courtesy of: Mougous Lab
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HIV-1 Envelope Evolution
Reconstructed phylogenetic network of HIV-1 envelope sequences (C2-V5) from subtype B.
Courtesy of: Mullins Lab
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Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Colonies of Pseudomonas aeruginosa expressing different amounts of exopolysaccharides.
Courtesy of: Harwood Lab
News & Updates
On April 19, UW Micro put on a Sunday Science Party at the SW Branch of Seattle Public Library. Twenty of us, including students, post-docs, staff and faculty showed off our creativity and love for all things microbiological. Kids of all ages got to build bacteria and viruses, make CRISPR necklaces and bacterial art, ask their burning microbiological questions and more. Special thanks to the library staff, and to Patrick Mitchell and Tristan Jordan for their organizational excellence.
Daniel Chen (UW '22 BS Microbiology) was awarded a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship to support his MD/PhD studies at UCLA. Congrats Daniel! Read more here.
Molly Ring, a first-year graduate student in the Department of Microbiology, was awarded an National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF). A highly competitive (>14,000 applicants) program, the NSF GRF recognizes outstanding graduate students across the United States who are pursuing research-based degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Congratulations Molly!
A strong contingent of UW Micro researchers presented their research at the 2025 ASM Northwest Branch Meeting in Portland OR. Several among them were selected for awards, including Best Trainee Talk at Main session (Edith Sawyer - Meeske lab), Best Trainee Talk at Trainee session (Daniel Mwangi - Woodward lab), and Best Poster (Olivia Dong - Mitchell lab). Congrats!
Upcoming Events
Recent Publications
Journal of virological methods
Jun, 2026
Virus evolution
2026
PLoS pathogens
Apr, 2026
Journal of bacteriology
Apr, 2026
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Apr, 2026
Nature communications
Apr, 2026
Viruses
Mar, 2026
Trauma case reports
Feb, 2026
Fast Facts
