I come from a long line of fantastic Southern storytellers and educators. Mostly Microbes is my avenue to share stories of the microscopic critters that fascinate me and keep our world healthy!
The microscopic world captivated me with my first peek in a microscope. While many people think of microbes as “germs”, the majority of microbes are helpful or have little negative effect on us. In fact, we some microbes are essential for our health! This blog tells those microbes’ tales.
I’m an academic. I love exploring, learning, and teaching. Being with people actively engaged in asking and exploring new questions to push the boundaries of our knowledge energizes me. During my dissertation I fell in love and, like 80% of the other women in science, married another scientist. Now we both are tenured professors at the same university – an amazing feat! The excitement of science surrounds me at work and home. But, I feel like often this excitement and knowledge gets trapped behind the words scientists use, in difficult to access scientific journals, or misunderstood. I hope that this blog – Mostly Microbes – will help make the wonders of the microscopic world that lives in, on, and around us accessible to everyone. I seek to make the basic research more approachable and interesting, provide credible links and resources for additional information (often funded by your tax dollars and made by other scientists and educators!), and help make connections between basic research and everyday life.
As a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) in the lab of Dr. Julie Dunning Hotopp, I first became interested in the human microbiome. IGS is one of the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) members. Researchers working there are and always have been the leaders in the field of microbial genomics. Hearing the amazing work coming out of the HMP first hand and working and talking with these fabulous scientists about their research and their families is phenomenal.
Currently, I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Towson University (TU). I regularly teach General Microbiology (BIOL318) and enjoy creating active learning activities for class. Our General Microbiology laboratory is a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience where students conduct and present their novel research on the bacteria isolated from dung beetles! So my research and teaching are tightly intertwined. A 2023 Science of Teaching and Learning mini grant and a 2024 Open Educational Resource grant from the Faculty Academic Center of Excellence at Towson have allowed my to develop new microbiology resources. In Fall 2020, my science communication passion was acknowledged by receiving the Fisher College Business and Outreach Award.
My research program is on host-microbial interactions. Specifically, I focus on the gut microbiome of dung beetles. You’d be surprised at the parallels between human and dung beetle microbiome work. I was awarded the Jess and Mildred Fisher Endowed Chair of Biological Sciences for my research program’s potential.
Last but not least, I am a mother. Before I birthed my dissertation, our first daughter was born as the monsoons began in Tucson. Five years later, our second daughter joined us during my post-doctoral research position. These ladies have changed how I look at the world and how I use science. Throughout pregnancy, delivery, first foods, and their childhood, I poured through the primary scientific literature when making decisions concerning their health and wellness. In talking with other parent friends, I began to realize that not everyone has that luxury. My goal with this blog is to repay the investment many people made on my education and training to inform and thus, empower, others who are interested in the importance of microbes in their health. Enjoy!
Anne’s LinkedIn profile
Anne’s Academic CV
Anne’s publications via ResearchGate
Art by Cara Gibson