Department of Microbiology

Although almost a quarter of Oregon’s high school graduates were Latinx in 2020 (originating from Mexico, Central and South America, and Hispanic-culture Caribbean), only around 9% of students graduating from OSU with a bachelor’s degree were Latinx in the same year. Similar statistics hold for Black, Native American, and other[...]

Dr. Rebecca Vega Thurber, Microbiology and other scientists at Oregon State University have shown that viral infection is involved in coral bleaching -- the breakdown of the symbiotic relationship between corals and the algae they rely on for energy.

Marine ecologist and associate professor Rebecca Vega Thurber has been appointed the Emile F. Pernot Distinguished Professor in Microbiology by the Colleges of Science and Agricultural Science at Oregon State University. The endowed professorship recognizes Vega Thurber’s distinguished contributions to several fields of microbiology that encompass coral reef ecology, virology,[...]

Congratulations to former Department of Microbiology faculty member Dennis Hruby, who is being honored for his pioneering discovery of a treatment for pox viruses. This is an exceptional achievement and we are all very proud of Dennis. Please check link to website for further information about this achievement and TPOXX,[...]

July 6, 2020: Sarah Olson Michel, a microbiology junior recommended science books for summer reading to a national audience on the Science Friday show. READ FULL ARTICLE AND LISTEN HERE.

June 12, 2020: Jacob Maynes , a senior in BioHealth Sciences will start medical school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pennsylvania. Working with is advisor, Alex Beck, they devised a plan where he could complete his degree after only 3 years of college.

May 20, 2020: BHS student Mikayla Pivec led the Oregon State Women's basketball team to another phenomenol season while holding the highest GPA on the team and completing her degree in BioHealth Science. She has received many athletic awards as well as being a SURE Science recipient. Congratulations Mikayla! Read Full Article

As part of the Earth Day celebrations Dr. James Fox, Microbiology, teamed up with Ivona Cetinić (NASA Goddard) to discuss the marine carbon cycle, phytoplankton, satellites and more. Dr. Fox introduced an outreach activity developed as part of his OMSI Science Communication Fellowship.

April 1, 2020: The Department of Microbiology has donated masks, gloves, and gowns to local hospitals in need of PPE for COVID-19 protection for health care workers.

April 1 2020: Dr. Andrew Thurber: An exhibit that was presented at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, "Deep Sea and Me" communicated the diversity of habitats (such as this methane seep) and societal benefits that Oregonians get from the Deep Sea. Photo courtesy of Ocean Exploraton Trust. The Deep Sea[...]

February 2020: A group of researchers, including Dr. Jerri Bartholomew and Dr. Stephen Atkinson from OSU, have discovered that a common salmon parasite in the PNW has lost its mitochondrial genome and cannot use oxygen directly. READ FURTHER

JANUARY 2020: Congratulations to Kim Halsey, who received support from the College of Sciences under the SciRIS-II program. Her project, titled " Predicting the trajectory of toxic harmful algal blooms using multi-omits data integration", will use innovative statistical approaches to merge aquatic microbiome data with environmental properties and chemical[...]

Researchers at Oregon State University have proposed a new genus of bacteria that flourishes when coral reefs become polluted, siphoning energy from the corals and making them more susceptible to disease. The NSF-funded study is published in the ISME Journal (Phylogenetic, genomic, and biogeographic characterization of a novel and ubiquitous[...]

Microbiology celebrated our 2019-20 Graduate Student Scholarship and Fellowship Awards on June 5. Congratulations to W.Wang, J. Buser, Q. Washburn, P Singla, H. Delgado, K. McConnell, P. Smith, D. Barrett and J. Joseph!

OSU microbiologist, Dr. Maude David, is part of a 1.94 million grant to look for possible connections between the human microbiome and autism spectrum disorder, a developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior. The study will include Stanford University School of Medicine and Second Genome. Additional Information

When the parasitic blob known as Henneguya salminicola sinks its spores into the flesh of a tasty fish, it does not hold its breath. That’s because is the only known animal onEarth that does not breathe. Read Full Story https://www.livescience.com/first-non-breathing-animal.html

Microbiology graduate student Quinn Washburn developed a board game called Oligotrophic designed to help students understand the microbial ecology of the oceans and movement of biomass. Marine microbes live extraordinary lives of their own, albeit ones fraught with danger and opportunity.

James Winton (Ph.D. ’81) remains grateful for how a single microbiology course changed his life. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, Winton arrived on campus in the winter of 1971-2 to take some pre-med courses. His first microbiology class struck a spark, and[...]

Micro undergrad student Julianna Donohoe, spent 10 weeks in Madrid, Spain at the Cajal Institute , a leading research center in neuroscience, where she assisted with research on Parkinson's Disease.

Dr. Michael Kent, Microbiology, received the OSU Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award and the 2018 Agricultural Research Foundation Distinguished Faculty Award for his superior academic performance, professional renown and service to the University and the public.

The Helen Alford Hays Microbiology Scholarship: "Prepare Your Minds," Dr. Charles Hays, a Canadian science journalist, advised students during the annual scholarship luncheon. He is the son of Helen Alford Hays, a long-time microbiology instructor and advisor from 1955-1981.

Dr. Maude David and Dr. Kenton Hokanson have recently joined the Department of Microbiology. Dr. David has a joint appointment in the College of Pharmacy and will focus on developing undergraduate curricula in bioinformatics. Dr. Hokanson is an instructor in Microbiology and BioHealth Sciences and will help develop an electrophysiology[...]

Hanby Middle School students get hands on lessons in microbiology. Photos and Story by Christien Laber During a recent visit to OSU, the Hanby Girls STEM group interacted with members of the Department of Microbiology to learn about life at the microscopic level. As part of their two-day tour[...]

Scientists are investigating the role microbiomes play in coral health, trying to identify those microbial traits that make coral reefs resilient as ocean temperatures rise and bleaching events accelerate. One group, the Global Coral Microbiome Project, led by OSU Microbiologist Dr. Rebecca Vega-Thurber is performing a global survey of reefs.[...]

Dr. Michael Kent was presented with the Outstanding Steward of Zebrafish Award by the Zebrafish Husbandry Association (ZHA) at the annual meeting at Aquaculture America 2018 in Las Vegas in recognition of his many years providing training and research in support of the health and welfare of laboratory zebrafish. The[...]

With help from the department, undergraduate Aimee Nguyen attended the SACNAS National Stem Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah in October. SACNAS stands for Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. This professional society's goal is to promote diversity and help minorities advance[...]

Microbiology Assistant Professor Maude David and PhD student Grace Deitzler are collaborating with Associate Professor Dr. Ramesh Sagili and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Priyadarshini Chakrabarti-Basu (College of Agricultural Sciences) to test the effects of commercially available probiotics for honeybees. These products have received a lot of attention in the beekeeping community[...]

Biodiversity in many of these areas is defined by the meager amount of food reaching the seafloor and over the next 80 plus years, in certain parts of the world, that amount of food will be cut in half, said Dr. Andrew Thurber, an OSU marine ecologist and co-author of[...]

Corvallis, Ore. — The discovery of the first active methane seep in Antarctica is providing scientists new understanding of the methane cycle and the role methane found in this region may play in warming the planet. A methane seep is a location where methane gas escapes from an underground reservoir[...]

Rachel Carson wrote, "In nature nothing exists alone." So what's at the bottom of your ocean? Off the coast of California there are hundreds of thousands of barrels of toxic waste from the manufacture of DDT: Full LA Times Article: https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-coast-ddt-dumping-ground/ ; For more of the science behind the[...]