Microbial Engineering Faculty



Alptekin Aksan
Professor
Mechanical Engineering
aaksan@umn.edu
Biostabilization; bioencapsulation; biotransport; biomechanics



Brett Barney
Associate Professor
Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
bbarney@umn.edu
Biofuels; biofertilizers; biosynthetic pathways



Jannell Bazurto
Assistant Professor
Plant and Microbial Biology
jbazurto@umn.edu
Regulatory mechanisms; bacterial physiology; metabolic stress; methylobacterium



Sebastian Behrens
Associate Professor
Civil, Environmental, & Geo-Engineering
sbehrens@umn.edu
Microbial bioremediation; environmental contaminants; resource recovery



Daniel Bond
Professor
Plant and Microbial Biology
dbond@umn.edu
Physiology and functional genomics of metal-reducing bacteria; microbial interactions with electrodes



Kyle Costa
Assistant Professor
Plant and Microbial Biology
kcosta@umn.edu
Methanogen physiology; microbial metabolism; anaerobic microbiology



Antony Dean
Professor
Ecology, Evolution & Behavior
deanx024@umn.edu
Molecular evolution; enzymology; isopropylmalate dehydrogenase (IDH)



Mark Distefano
Professor
Chemistry
diste001@umn.edu
Protein prenylation; molecular recognition and catalysis in proteins; protein engineering; bioorganic chemistry



Mikael Elias
Associate Professor
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, & Biophysics
mhelias@umn.edu
Microbial enzymes and systems; bio-remediation; cellular phosphate uptake mechanism



Kathryn Fixen
Assistant Professor
Plant and Microbial Biology
kfixen@umn.edu
Redox regulation of metabolism; anoxygenic phototrophs; product formation



Mike Freeman
Assistant Professor
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, & Biophysics
mffreema@umn.edu
Natural product biosynthesis; microbial genetics; targeted metagenomics; radical-mediated chemistry



Jeff Gralnick
Professor
Plant and Microbial Biology
gralnick@umn.edu
Microbial physiology; synthetic biology; geomicrobiology; Shewanella; bioenergy; bioremediation; biocatalysis



Ben Hackel
Associate Professor
Chemical Engineering & Materials Science
hackel@umn.edu
Protein engineering; molecular diagnostics; targeted therapy; oncology; infectious disease



Trinity Hamilton
Associate Professor
Plant and Microbial Biology
trinityh@umn.edu
Microbial photosynthesis; global biogeochemical cycles; microbial ecosystems, ecology, and evolution



Will Harcombe
Associate Professor
Ecology, Evolution & Behavior
harcombe@umn.edu
Cooperation and conflict; eco-evolutionary feedback; microbial communities; microbial interactions; systems biology



Bo Hu
Professor
Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
bhu@umn.edu
Bioprocessing technologies; biofuels; biomass utilization; industrial fermentation; waste management and treatment



Wei-Shou Hu
Professor
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
acre@cems.umn.edu
Cell culture technology; tissue engineering; metabolic engineering; quantitative modeling of biological systems



Satoshi Ishii
Associate Professor
Soil, Water, and Climate
ishi0040@umn.edu
Applied microbiology and biotechnology; nitrogen pollution; genomics; metagenomics; meta transcriptomics; high-throughput sequencing; bioinformatics; bioreactors; mathematical modeling



Romas Kazlauskas
Professor
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, & Biophysics
rjk@umn.edu
Green (sustainable) chemistry; enzyme modeling; enzyme design; enzyme engineering



Dan Knights
Associate Professor
Computer Science and Engineering
dknights@umn.edu
Model host-microbiome interactions; microbial community patterns that predict and diagnose human diseases; computational microbiology



Tim LaPara
Professor
Civil, Environmental & Geo-Engineering
lapar001@umn.edu
Biological wastewater treatment; wastewater and environmental microbiology; microbial ecology and evolution; antibiotic resistance



Paige Novak
Professor
Department of Civil, Environmental, & Geo-Engineering
novak010@umn.edu
Biological transformation of hazardous substances; biodegradation; PCB dechlorinators; dehalorespirers; estrogenic compounds; micropollutants; reactive membrane systems



Daniel J. O’Sullivan
Daniel J. O’Sullivan
Professor
Food Science and Nutrition
dosulliv@umn.edu



Michael Sadowsky
Professor
Department of Soil, Water, & Climate
sadowsky@umn.edu
Molecular plant-microbe interactions; nitrogen-fixing symbiotic systems; biodegradation; bioremediation; metagenomics of soil, water, and intestinal environments



Christine Salomon
Associate Professor
Center for Drug Design
csalomon@umn.edu
Biological control of plant disease; antibiotic resistance; communication networks among bacterial populations



Cara Santelli
Associate Professor
Earth & Environmental Sciences
santelli@umn.edu
Impact of microbial activity on geological and environmental processes; nutrient biogeochemical cycling; environmental remediation; influence of anthropogenic activity on biogeochemical processes



Claudia Schmidt-Dannert
Professor
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, & Biophysics
Director, BioTechnology Institute
schmi232@umn.edu
Biosynthetic machinery; sustainable synthesis; multi-enzyme biocatalysis; genetically programmable, self-organizing protein-based functional materials



Janet Schottel
Professor
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
schot002@umn.edu
https://cbs.umn.edu/contacts/janet-l-schottel
mRNA stability, Plant-pathogen interactions, Gene expression



Burckhard Seelig
Professor
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
seelig@umn.edu
Darwinian molecular evolution; novel protein generation; synthetic biology; origin and evolution of functional proteins; history of the genetic code



W. Thomas Shier
Professor
Medicinal Chemistry
shier001@umn.edu
612-624-9465



Mike Smanski
Associate Professor
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
smanski@umn.edu
Natural product discovery; genome mining; genetic systems engineering



Michael Travisano
Professor
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
travisan@umn.edu
Ecological and evolutionary dynamics; evolutionary genetics; microbial ecology and evolution; yeast speciation



Larry Wackett
Professor
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
wacke003@umn.edu
Biodegradation; bioremediation; biosynthesis of natural products; enzymology; applications of enzymes in industrial processes



Ping Wang
Professor
Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
ping@umn.edu
Enzyme engineering and nano biocatalysis; bioprocessing and bioreactors; biosensors; biodegradation; biofuels and bioenergy; biomass-based chemicals and materials; smart coatings and nano functional materials; carbon capture and conversion



Carrie M. Wilmot
Professor
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
wilmo004@umn.edu
Structural enzymology; natural products; metalloenzymes; macromolecular X-ray crystallography; spectroscopic techniques; kinetics; mass spectrometry