Department of Microbiology
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 in the News
- Research Takes UT Faculty and Students to the Extreme
The mysteries of science entice UT research faculty to seek new discoveries in some of the world’s most extreme environments. Their fascinations might lead them to probe the ice fields of Antarctica to expand interplanetary possibilities, scoop up remnants of ancient undersea volcanoes to predict future impact, or break open the subatomic world to better understand how everything is put together. - $1.86 million NIH Grant Expands Andrew Monteith’s Immunology ResearchA nearly $1.86 million National Institutes of Health grant will allow Andrew Monteith to further study how metabolic processes affect the ways certain white blood cells fight pathogens. The Maximizing… Read more: $1.86 million NIH Grant Expands Andrew Monteith’s Immunology Research
- $1.82 million NIH Grant Funding Lindsey Burcham’s Women’s Health Research
by Amy Beth Miller With a $1.82 million National Institutes of Health grant, Assistant Professor Lindsey Burcham is leading interdisciplinary research on the vaginal microbiome, which can affect maternal, fetal,… Read more: $1.82 million NIH Grant Funding Lindsey Burcham’s Women’s Health Research
