Microbiology

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.

Scientists examining a test sample in a lab

Microbiology in the News

  • A man makes a presentation in a classroom
    UT Support Helps Microbiology Alumnus Build Business for a Better Environment
    Recent UT alumnus Jordan Cannon (’24) turned his PhD research into a commercial enterprise that could help reduce bioplastic waste in landfills and beyond. His start-up company Circular Biosciences earned a research option from the UT Research Foundation (UTRF) for their bioplastic degradation technology.
  • Illustration of an ice diver going beneath the surface of the water to collect samples
    Mikucki Digs Deep for Space-Bound Microbiology
    The smallest Earth-bound organisms can inspire technology that will someday reach far across the solar system in the search for extraterrestrial life. UT Microbiology Professor Jill Mikucki studies how microbial life forms interact with their environments—and helps fellow scientists and engineers test the tools to detect the microbial impact throughout entire ecosystems.
  • Researcher in the snow
    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.