Dr. Gary Sayler

See Also: Curriculum Vitae | Center for Environmental Biotechnology (CEB)

Major Research Interests

• Ecological and toxicological impact of environmental contaminants on microbial communities; biodegradative mechanisms,plasmids and transposons.
• Application of molecular methods in analysis of biodegradative microbial community structure and function. Genetic engineering strategies for biodegradative and biosensing organisms.

Gary S. Sayler, Professor of Microbiology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, is the director of the CEB. Dr. Sayler has 25 years of experience in multidisciplinary laboratory and field environmental research and biodegradation of organic pollutants such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and trichloroethylene (TCE). Over the past 15 years, he has pioneered the development of environmental molecular diagnostics including the extraction and analysis of nucleic acids from soils (a patented process), bioluminescent reporter technology, and the first field release of a genetically-engineered microorganism for remediation purposes. This research has resulted in over 200 technical publications and monographs and over 150 invited presentations at the national and international level. He is a member of five professional societies and currently serves on five editorial boards.

 

Dr. Gary Sayler

Professor; Director, Center for Environmental Biotechnology (CEB)
Ph. D., 1974
University of Idaho

Center for Environmental Biotechnology
676 Dabney Hall
Knoxville, TN 37996-1605

Phone: 865-974-8080
Fax: 865-974-8086
Email: sayler@utk.edu