Microbiology News & Announcements

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."