Drew Hendrickson (BS ’19 Microbial Biology and Chemical Biology) is passionate about engineering enzymes to break down toxins and restore degraded landscapes.
Recognition for Dr. Diane Burgess
PMB recognizes Dr. Diane Burgess' achievements and wishes her continued good luck in her retirement.
Expanding our knowledge of soil microbiomes
PMB graduate student Alexa Nicolas explains her research on soil viruses and their link to carbon emissions.
Cultivating resilience
PMB faculty including Krishna Niyogi and Ksenia Krasileva were featured in an article on how synthetic biology and CRISPR can help plants fight pathogens, improve crop yields, and store carbon.
John Coates honored by the American Society for Microbiology
Coates, a professor in PMB and head of the Energy and Biosciences Institute, was recognized for improving scientific understanding of microbes in the environment.
Microbe Miners
Assistant Professor Cecilia Martinez-Gomez’s engineered bacteria recovers valuable elements from old smartphones, cleans up medical wastewater, and more.
Tapping the Superpowers of Biology
Professors John Coates and Sabeeha Merchant are a few of the Rausser College researchers helping the bioeconomy bring renewable, carbon-negative products to a global scale.
Women in STEM seminar series: Cecilia Martinez-Gomez
Martinez-Gomez, an assistant professor in PMB, breaks down her research on bacterial metabolism and offers career advice for aspiring scientists.
Building community through open dialogue
The Department of Plant and Microbial Biology’s Directed Conversations allow for discussion and connection on the topics of racial justice and discrimination, belonging, and equity and inclusion.
Like the Borg of Star Trek, these ‘aliens’ assimilate DNA from other microbes
PhD candidates Basem Al-Shayeb and Luis Valentin-Alvarado, and alum Alexander Crits-Christoph have helped identify a new transferrable DNA structure that appears to play a role in balancing atmospheric methane.
Research team receives $15.8M to modify poplar for bioproducts
Professor Patrick Shih is part of a Department of Energy-funded team led by University of Georgia researchers to reengineer poplar trees into biofuel.
New student organization for Queer graduate students
Rausser College graduate students have formed a new group to foster community for peers that identify as Queer or LGBTQ+
New findings detail alternative immune pathways in duckweed species
Antimicrobial genes in the small, invasive plant species may help improve disease resistance in rice and wheat.
UC Berkeley, Berkeley Lab researchers receive $11.6 million in Department of Energy funding
The award will support research to develop biofuel and bioproducts from photosynthetic micro-alga by PMB professors Sabeeha Merchant and Krishna Niyogi, and research biologist Melissa Roth.
Protein structures aren’t set in stone
New research on plant enzymes by Professor Patrick Shih and PhD student Albert Liu Study shows that proteins can change their structural arrangement with surprising ease.
Professor Aaron Leichty joins Plant and Microbial Biology
Join us in welcoming Leichty and other new Rausser College faculty.
Bioengineering better photosynthesis
Krishna Niyogi and Nina Maryn are collaborators on first-of-its-kind research that used improved photosynthesis to increase yields in food crops for the first time ever.
The small alga with a big impact
PMB Professor Sabeeha Merchant breaks down the impact of sequencing the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii genome.
Interview: Ksenia Krasileva
Krasileva discusses her background, her passions, and her research on plant innate immunity in this piece by the Innovative Genomics Institute.
A visit to the lab with PhD candidate Luis Valentin-Alvarado
Valentin-Alvarado breaks down his research for the Spanish-speaking community in this new video produced by Science at Cal.