Department of Microbiology

Author: newframe

Buchan Elected Fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology

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Alison Buchan, Carolyn W. Fite Professor and associate head of microbiology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was recently elected as a 2022 Fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology. This is an honor that recognizes service, leadership, and creative achievement in the field of  microbiology.  

The fellow selection process is based on several factors, such as scientific and innovative achievements. This year, only 65 professors from across the world received the honor.

“I am humbled and honored to join the ranks of the American Academy of Microbiologists,” Buchan said. ”I am grateful to my many past and current mentors, supporters, and also the many talented and inspiring undergraduate and graduate students that I have had the unique privilege to work with over the years.”

Buchan’s expertise in her discipline has a broad scope. She is a microbial ecologist who studies the interactions bacteria have with one another and more recently she is studying the viruses that infect them. She is also trained as a microbiologist (MSc) and a marine scientist (PhD). The multidisciplinary research Buchan has accomplished at UT has given her the opportunity to collaborate with several other scientists such as chemists, geochemists, and modelers.  

“Science is most definitely a team effort and I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with fabulous students, faculty and research staff here at UT.”

Theresa Jones – Graduate Student Spotlight

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Generally, it is rather easy to ignore the complex microbiome surrounding our everyday endeavors; however, as you listen to Theresa Jones passionately describe T. gondii toxoplasma, which she studies as doctoral researcher in Professor Chunlei Su’s lab, you start to look at your environment through the eyes of a microbiologist. 

Jones explains that toxoplasma is found everywhere in the world, and although it generally goes unnoticed with a healthy immune system, many illnesses are linked to this parasite. It is also extremely dangerous for pregnant women, making it an undeniable concern. Hoping to mitigate its negative effects, Jones studies the little understood T. gondii sexual reproduction processes using an uncommon study environment: cat intestines. 

Why cats? House cats are, surprisingly, a common avenue for the spread of T. gondii, as they often become infected by prey that harbor the parasite in their muscle tissues. Thousands of T. gondii oocysts, or encapsulated zygotes, spread into the environment when an infected cat defecates, infecting humans who consume contaminated water or vegetables. 

Specifically, Jones aims to create a lab-friendly environment for toxoplasma research. 

“I’m working on an in-vitro system to support sexual reproduction,” Jones elaborates. “I’m trying to replicate what happens in cat intestines in a culture tube.” 

Building this system could help shed light on the complex process without the need for live animals. 

Aside from her research, Jones is also dedicated to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within the UT microbiology department. Her efforts stem from her own feelings of underrepresentation in academia. 

“Being a black woman and coming from a different background, I noticed I was treated differently in the classroom,” she says. As her education advanced, she noted there were increasingly fewer students who looked like her. “People have this idea of what a scientist looks like, but why can’t a scientist look like me?” Jones found herself asking. 

During the summer of 2020, she approached the department about creating a diversity committee, and soon, Jones and Professors Todd Reynolds, Jill Mikucki, and David Talmy had created a space for open discussions and effective planning. The group created a detailed diversity plan, which aimed to address Jones’ concerns.

“We set intentional goals to create a welcoming environment and attract and retain more people that are underrepresented,” Jones explains. The committee also created newsletters, invited lecturers from underrepresented backgrounds, and notified the department of diversity-focused events. 

Jones is incredibly happy with the results of the committee’s efforts. “I’m starting to see different people and viewpoints coming in and pouring out,” she smiles. “It is such a beautiful thing!”

-By Taylor Mattioli

Mind the Gap – A Message From the Department Head

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Message from the Department Head
In our Spring 2022 newsletter we are proud to share with you some highlights of the exciting and important research being conducted in the Department of Microbiology here at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. A distinguishing characteristic of academic scientists is their passion for integrating discovery with education. Scientists stand at the edge of knowledge, pushing outward toward information and ideas that can and do change the world for the better.

Throughout my career I have been inspired by the students with whom I have interacted, who are learning where that edge is, where to push, and how to be comfortable with not knowing all the answers. Often, undergraduate researchers are just beginning to realize that there even is an edge, and as educators we are metaphorically holding up signs that say “mind the gap.” Graduate student researchers know there is a gap, and have decided to commit themselves to exploring what lies within it. This is a brave decision that causes them to diverge from their peers who are starting or continuing their jobs in the ‘real world.’ For many, becoming a graduate student means daily struggles: trying to make the experiments work, trying to explain to friends and family why the results were devastating or exciting, trying to explain to a mentor why the experiment was done that way in the first place, and trying to balance the many obligations that come with being a scientist, student, educator, and a human being.

In my view, one of the greatest privileges of being a faculty member at an institution like ours is watching graduate students grow in their confidence as they realize that they are the world’s expert in the length of the gap they have chosen to study, and as they hone and expand on their ability to communicate old and new scientific ideas to anyone and everyone.

Graduate students are the linchpins of academic research. They are at the frontline of the gap, spending hours at the bench, computer, and field to wrangle large amounts of data and small amounts of liquid into something interpretable for the world. They are at the frontline of our ‘mind the gap’ campaign, helping convey in the classroom and instructional labs the results and importance of scientific discovery to hundreds of undergraduates, most of whom will not share their enthusiasm. They are at the frontline of our self-awareness and image as a department, reminding us of our obligations, both scientific and nonscientific to all members of society; reminding us often of why we are pursuing new knowledge.

Here in the department, as we start the spring semester of 2022, we have just finished interviewing students for the incoming graduate class of fall 2022. The first-year students are entering their second semester and have made the important decision of joining a lab, which will define the general area of the gap they will be exploring. The second-year students are developing and defending their project goals and approaches as they take their preliminary exam or defend their thesis. And the continuing dissertators are running ahead of their mentors, calling back as they transform the unknown into the known.  

As you read through the newsletter and gain a glimpse into the stories of some of our graduate students and faculty, I hope you will share my gratitude and awe for their choice to dedicate themselves to scientific inquiry. This choice, though difficult, makes all the difference to making sure the rest of us have solid ground beneath us. 

Heidi Goodrich-Blair
David and Sandra White Professor and Head of Microbiology