Department of Microbiology faculty members Heidi Goodrich-Blair, professor and head of microbiology, and Igor Jouline, joint faculty professor, have been elected fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology.
They join 71 other professors worldwide as 2017 academy fellows.
Each year, the American Academy for Microbiology selects fellows through a highly competitive process based on the individual’s scientific achievement and original contributions to the field of microbiology. Currently, there are more than 2,400 fellows representing different specialties of microbiology from across the globe.
Goodrich-Blair’s current research objective is to understand the molecular basis by which bacteria interact with animals. Goodrich-Blair uses invertebrate hosts (insects and nematodes) to explore the beneficial and harmful relationships bacteria have with them.
Jouline holds a joint appointment as a UT faculty member and a Distinguished Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His research interests involve understanding how living cells detect and transmit signals. Because abnormal signals in human cells can lead to diseases such as cancer, Jouline’s work identifies signaling pathways that might become targets for drug design.
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C O N T A C T:
Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lalapo@utk.edu)