Microbiology News & Announcements

On 6/13/23, UW Medicine launched the Microbial Interactions & Microbiome Center to catalyze research in the Pacific Northwest focused on microbial communities. The new center, led by Dr. Joseph Mougous, the Lynn M. and Michael D. Garvey Endowed Chair in Gastroenterology, Professor of Microbiology and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at UW, will bring together scientists from diverse disciplines to study how microbes interact with each other and with their hosts, as well as the functional importance of microbiomes in the environment and in human health and disease.”

See the UW Newsroom Article.

UW Medicine launches a new center to study microbiomes Today UW Medicine launched the Microbial Interactions & Microbiome Center to investigate the diverse communities of microorganisms that inhabit nearly every environment, including parts of our bodies like the gut, mouth, and skin. Among the center’s overarching goals are exploring the science behind these dynamic communities of bacteria, fungi, and other microscopic lifeforms, as well as the effects of microbiomes on human health and ecosystem function. newsroom.uw.edu

Dr. E. Pete Greenberg is being recognized with one of the most prestigious and inspirational international scientific awards, the 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research. The award is bestowed jointly with two other scientists, Bonnie Bassler and Jeffrey Gordon. Their Majesties King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain, accompanied by HRH Princess of Asturias Leonor, will preside over the ceremony of the Princess of Asturias Awards which will take place on Friday 20th October in the Spanish town of Oviedo.

Hearty congratulations to Patrick Mitchell, who was selected from ~6000 applicants to be one of ~30 inaugural HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholars!  The HHMI press release can be found here as well as additional information about the Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program here.

"My time at the UW has provided me with ample opportunity to explore different facets of healthcare and its intersection with research, business, public policy, global health and community engagement. I am interested in how these various disciplines not only affect the health of underserved and marginalized communities, but also how they can be harnessed to improve it."

Pavithra Prabhu, Microbiology Undergraduate Student

E. Peter Greenberg, the inaugural Eugene and Martha Nester Professor of Microbiology at the University of Washington, joins Bonnie L. Bassler, Squibb Professor and chair of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, and Michael R. Silverman, emeritus investigator at The Agouron Institute and emeritus adjunct professor, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in receiving the 2023 Canada Gairdner International Award.  Each year, the Gairdner Foundation honors individuals who have made truly outstanding contributions in biomedicine or global health. The Gairdner Foundation press release can be found here.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought mRNA vaccines to the forefront and realized, for the first time, their promise of providing a more rapid response to emerging infectious diseases than traditional vaccines. Ideally, vaccines of the future will not only be quick to develop but offer long-term stability at warm temperatures to overcome the barriers of the cold chain for worldwide distribution, achieve a high-level efficacy in the immune-compromised and elderly, induce durable immunity in as few doses as possible and be capable of self-administration.

The Department of Microbiology welcomes new Assistant Professor, Dr. Tristan Jordan, who joined the department in January, 2023. Dr. Jordan indicates “Several things about the UW and UW Micro drove me to join. First and foremost, was the science. I loved the rigor and diversity of the science that was on-going in the Department of Microbiology and the UW as a whole. The collaborative atmosphere of the Department and biomedical science in Seattle, in general, was also a significant draw. It felt like a breath of fresh air to see and hear about all the collaborations that exists.”

The University of Washington Department of Microbiology has been approved by the Seattle Chapter Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation to receive ARCS funding for Ph.D. candidates starting Autumn quarter 2023. ARCS Foundation’s mission is to support academically outstanding United States citizens studying to complete their degrees in science, medicine and engineering, thereby contributing to the worldwide advancement of science and technology.

Microbiology undergraduate alumnus Daniel Chen, ’22 was named prestigious Marshall Scholar. "Chen, who identifies as LGBTQIA+, also co-founded Huskies for Neurodiversity, a student group that promotes visibility and acceptance of neurodiversity at the UW and beyond."