People
Principle Investigator (PI):
Tiehang Wu (Ph. D., The Pennsylvania State University, 2002)
Dr. Wu's research focuses on molecular approaches to understand diversity and communities of soil fungi, bacteria, micro- and mesofauna under different land management practices and at a global scale. These include the cosmopolitan or endemic distribution of soil microorganisms at a global scale and the relationships of soil microorganisms to aboveground diversity, plant health, sustainable plant production, environmental qualities, and their global ecosystem functions. In addition, Dr. Wu collaborates with other faculty members on molecular approaches to understand microbial diversity of aquatic ecosystems, such as microbial communities of nearshore anchialine systems, biofilms of industrial and domestic water treatment plant, and a potentially cost-effective and “green” biotechnology for treatments of wastewater in power plants. The goal of Dr. Wu's research is to apply the theory of microbial ecology and molecular microbiology to understand community interactions and mechanisms of microorganisms in nutrient cycling, improving environmental quality and sustainability of ecosystems.
Graduate Students:
Michael Sabula (M. Sc.)
Fall 2012 - Fall 2014
Major: Biology
Interests: Molecular Biology
Holli Milner (M. Sc.)
Fall 2012 - Fall 2014
Major: Biology
Interests: Molecular Biology
Dean Moore (M. Sc.)
Spring 2014 - Fall 2015
Major: Biology
Interests: Biogeochemistry and Molecular Biology
Preston Pound (M. Sc.)
Fall 2015 - Fall 2017
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbial Diversity and Molecular Biology
Undergraduate Scholars:
Michael Sabula
Fall 2011 and Spring 2012
Interests: Microbiology. Continued for graduate study in my lab.
Holli Milner
Summer 2012
Interests: Microbiology. Continued for graduate study in my lab.
Calli Beasley
Summer and Fall 2012
Major: Biology
Interests: Molecular Biology
Derrick Mayers
Fall 2012
Major: Biology
Interests: Molecular Biology
Kain Weaver
Fall 2012 and Spring 2013
Major: Pre-Medicine Biology
Interests: Molecular Biology
Broni Rix
Fall 2013
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Garret Strickland
Fall 2013 - Spring 2015
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Mica Goulbourne
Spring 2014
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Ashley Gray
Fall 2014 - Fall 2015
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Aaron Muirhead
Spring 2015 - Fall 2015
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Hilary Kaminski
Fall 2015 - Spring 2016
Major: Biology
Interests: Plant Pathology and Mycology
Tu Vo
Spring 2016 - Summer 2016
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Deonte Martin
Spring 2016
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Bolanle Osi Efa
Spring 2016 - Summer 2017
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Gan Liu
Summer 2017 - Summer 2018
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Kianna Reid
Spring 2018 - Fall 2018
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Matthew Beckham
Spring 2018 - Spring 2019
Major: Biochemistry
Interests: Microbiology
James Laird
Spring 2019 - Fall 2019
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Heath Suich
Fall 2019 - Spring 2020
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Lindsay Smoak
Spring 2021 - Spring 2022
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Dauntiara Lewis
Fall 2022
Major: Biology
Interests: Microbiology
Visiting Scholars:
Meijuan Li
Visiting Scholar
Fall 2018 - Fall 2019
Interests: Soil Ecology
Positions open