Skip to main content

Accessibility menu

Skip to main content Skip to footer

Relocation

Due to the demolition of Cowley Hall and construction of Prairie Springs Science Center Phase II, the Microbiology Department will be temporarily relocated to 404 Wimberly Hall. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Department Chair

Peter Wilker

Specialty areas:

Immunology, influenza viruses

Academic Department Associate

The Department Microbiology has ten Microbiologists with full time commitments in the Microbiology curriculum and ten additional faculty with partial responsibilities in Microbiology instruction. The Microbiology faculty strive to ensure that students master the material necessary to become competent, practicing Microbiologists. Each is dedicated, helpful, and interested in the student's success and is committed to quality undergraduate education. Faculty are supported by three staff members that run the Microbiology prep room. The prep room staff, along with numerous student employees, ensure that each Microbiology laboratory is set up to allow students maximum hands-on experience in state-of-the-art techniques in Microbiology.

 

Microbiology Graduate Programs Director

Paul Schweiger  Office hours

Specialty areas:

Microbial Metabolism and Physiology
Synthetic and Molecular Biology
Applied Microbiology
Biotechnology
Contact me if you have any interest in undergraduate or graduate (MS) research in these fields!

Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) Director

Michael Lazzari  Office hours

Specialty areas:

Clinical Laboratory Science advising

Marisa Barbknecht  Marisa Barbknecht saysMeet with me  Office hours

Specialty areas:

Introductory Microbiology Education

Bonnie Bratina

Specialty areas:

Microbial ecology, Aquatic microbiology, Biogeochemistry

Daniel Bretl

Specialty areas:

Bacterial Genetics; Cellular Signaling

Jennifer Gallagher
Kari Johnson

Specialty areas:

Dept. Equity Liaison

Clinical Laboratory Science - academic advising; course instruction

Laboratory Management. 

 

Michael Lazzari  Office hours

Specialty areas:

Clinical Laboratory Science advising

Xinhui Li

Specialty areas:

My research interests lie in the area of food microbiology, with the focus on antibiotic resistance in food chain and inactivation of foodborne viruses. I am currently accepting M.S. and undergraduate research students. 

William Schwan  Office hours

Specialty areas:

Pathogenic bacteriology, drug discovery and preclinical testing, uropathogenic Escherichia coli virulence/gene regulation, Staphylococcus aureus virulence/gene regulation

Paul Schweiger  Office hours

Specialty areas:

Microbial Metabolism and Physiology
Synthetic and Molecular Biology
Applied Microbiology
Biotechnology
Contact me if you have any interest in undergraduate or graduate (MS) research in these fields!

Zachariah Tritz

Specialty areas:

Immunology

Peter Wilker

Specialty areas:

Immunology, influenza viruses

Jessica Osborn
Rebecca Polanowski
Scott Cooper

Specialty areas:

Effects of hibernation on blood clotting in 13-lined ground squirrels.

Anne Galbraith

Specialty areas:

Genetics, genetic disorders, genetics, molecular biology, genetics, baker's yeast, genetics, antimicrobials, genetics....

Gregory Sandland

Specialty areas:

Host-parasite interactions, life-history evolution, disease ecology, invasive species dynamics, mathematical biology, toxicology

Eric Strauss

Specialty areas:

Limnology, Stream and River Ecology, Water Quality

 Adjunct and clinical faculty 

William A. Agger, M.D. 
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation 
Dean Jobe, M.S.  
Western Technical College
Todd Kowalski, M.D. 
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation 
Richard McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Gateway Technical College 
Darby Oldenburg, Ph.D. 
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation
Kurt Reed, M.D. 
Northwestern University
Don Salter, Ph.D.
Leuther Laboratories, LLC
 

 

Emeritus faculty 

Name
Email address
Years Principal Areas of Instruction
Sue Anglehart, M.S. 1997-2024   Fundamentals of Microbiology, Microbes & Society, Global Impact of Infectious Disease 
Robert Burns, Ph.D. -1998 Pathogenic Microbiology
Michael Hoffman, Ph.D.
mahoffma9@gmail.com
2000-2026 Virology, Global Impact of Infectious Disease 
S.N. Rajagopal, Ph.D.   Fundamentals of Microbiology, Food Microbiology
Marc Rott, Ph.D.  
-2019 Fundamentals of Microbiology, Microbial Genetics
Diane Sewell, Ph.D. MLS(ASCP) CM 2004-2013 Clinical Lab Science
Martin Venneman, Ph.D.      Immunology
Michael Winfrey, Ph.D.   -2014 Fundamentals of Microbiology, Aquatic Microbial Ecology, Bacterial Diversity, Bacterial Physiology