Welcome to the University of Tennessee's Department of Microbiology

Welcome to the Department of Microbiology

Welcome New Microbiology Faculty Member, Nathan W. Schmidt

Infection with Plasmodium spps, the parasite responsible for malaria, is currently a global health crisis. Approximately 50% of the worlds’ population lives in malaria-endemic regions, and ~1 million people die from malaria annually. While anti-malarial drugs have been effective at treating infected individuals, drug-resistance is a common problem and they do not prevent re-infection. Alternatively, an efficacious vaccine for malaria has the potential to prevent infection and lead towards the eradication of this parasite. More

The department is a component of the College of Arts and Sciences. Its faculty members are responsible for teaching microbiology to students in many colleges of the University of Tennessee. Microbiology is one of three Life Sciences departments composing The Division of Biology within the College of Arts and Sciences. The three Departments of the Biology Division are: Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; and Microbiology. The division seeks to provide high-quality education, perform research in the life sciences, provide advanced graduate training as well as provide public service to the region and the nation. Faculty and graduate students interact with research scientists in many Colleges of the University, at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, and at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories. The undergraduate program in Arts and Sciences leads to a B.S. in Microbiology, and the graduate program leads to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. The department is an active participant in several interdisciplinary and interdepartmental programs: Genome Science and Technology; Comparative and Experimental Medicine; and the Center for Environmental Biotechnology.

Departmental Mission

The Department of Microbiology at UT Knoxville is dedicated to providing the quality education, through both teaching and research, necessary to meet the needs of this growing field. Our faculty members aggressively pursue research in many areas of the science: immunology; virology; microbial ecology and pathology; microbial genetics; and others. Research projects are continuously conducted through collaboration with and support from various prominent sources, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the United States Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Science Foundation (NSF), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and NASA, among others.

Undergraduate students gain valuable experience in the lab by working under one of the professors; faculty also work extensively with post-graduate level students, often publishing numerous articles on their collaborative experimentation and study. Focus may be on such notable areas as herpes virus or coronavirus research, on studying the impact of viruses on marine and freshwater food webs, or on sequencing genes in pathogenic fungi.

Microbiology News

Dr. Jeffrey M. Becker, Head and Professor of Microbiology, named as Chancellor's Professor Spring 2011.
See full article.
The Department of Microbiology will begin accepting applications for the Fall 2012 graduate class in September of this year. Priority consideration will be given to PhD and MSc applicants whose files (including the application, scores and letters of reference) are complete by Dec 15, 2011; the department will however continue to accept applications for consideration through Feb 15, 2012. In the 2012 academic year, the department anticipates 10 new graduate positions will be available, including several Chancellor’s Fellowships that will increase support for our most competitive applicants.
The MicroScope - Newsletter
Erik Zinser Invited to Join the Editorial Board of Environmental Microbiology/Environmental Microbiology Reports
Revisions to Concentration Requirements

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