ISU Microbiology Graduate Program

Michelle Chamberlain and members of the Swanner lab recently presented at AbSciCon in Madison, Wisconsin. Michelle gave a talk about the interplay between phosphorus cycling and Cyanobacteria activity in a ferruginous lake. This work can provide insights into nutrient cycling and mineral formation on ancient Earth and Mars.

Dr. Mellata’s Lab recently shared their research at the Midwest Microbiome Symposium hosted at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Mellata gave the keynote talk, "The Avian Segmented Filamentous Bacteria: A master of gut immunity and microbiome development in early life," and Caleb Skow presented a poster titled, "Exploring how a host-specific microbe modulates early gut immunity in chickens through targeted kinome array testing."

Midwest Microbiome Symposium 2026 – Microbial Systems Initiative Midwest Microbiome Symposium 2026 May 11-13, 2026 | Partners in OneHealth: Hosts, Harvest and Habitats I Hotel and Illinois Conference Center, Champaign, Illinois MenuRegistrationMicrobiome AwardsSponsorTravelAbout the Symposium The Midwest Microbiome Symposium is a regional research conference for....

Caleb Skow and Logan C. Ott of Dr. Mellata’s lab recently published an article in Frontiers in Microbiology titled, “A defined microbiota mouse model for Salmonella Paratyphi A oral infection”. In this article, Dr. Mellata’s lab employs gnotobiotic mice harboring the altered Schaedler flora from multiple genetic backgrounds as a model for oral acquisition and pathogenesis of human-host-restricted pathogen Salmonella Paratyphi A.

Frontiers | A defined microbiota mouse model for Salmonella Paratyphi A oral infection IntroductionSalmonella Paratyphi A (SPtA) is an emerging pathogen that primarily infects humans and causes enteric fever, yet it has not received sufficient ...

Olmedo-Velarde Lab Students Share Iowa Plant Virology Research at WERA-20 Meeting!
Olmedo-Velarde Lab students Carter Casey and Kota Nakasato represented Iowa State University at the WERA-20 annual meeting, Management of Diseases Caused by Systemic Pathogens in Temperate and Sub-Tropical Fruit Crops and Woody Ornamentals, held May 6–8 at Maui Community College in Kahului, Hawaiʻi.
WERA-20 is a multistate research coordinating committee focused on diseases caused by systemic pathogens, including viruses, viroids, phytoplasmas, and systemic bacterial pathogens, in fruit crops and woody ornamentals. The group brings together researchers, extension specialists, regulatory professionals, and government representatives to share research updates, strengthen collaborations, and advance disease-management strategies for specialty crops.
During the meeting, Carter Casey presented “Characterization of Virus Populations in Cold-Hardy Grapevine in Iowa,” highlighting research on virus diversity in grapevine systems relevant to Midwest specialty crop production. Kota Nakasato presented “Characterization of Novel Viruses Identified in Red-Osier Dogwood in Iowa,” sharing findings from high-throughput sequencing-based discovery of previously undescribed viruses associated with a woody ornamental host.
The meeting program included research reports from multiple states, updates on grapevine, citrus, cherry, rose, and ornamental plant diseases, and a special session on applying National Clean Plant Network principles to tropical and subtropical plant disease management in Hawaiʻi. The final day included a field trip to Mahi Pono Farm and Maui Tropical Plantation, where participants learned about Hawaiian agriculture, including its unique production challenges and opportunities.
Participation in WERA-20 provided an opportunity for Olmedo-Velarde Lab students to share Iowa State research with a national network of plant pathologists, virologists, extension professionals, and regulatory partners working to protect fruit crops and woody ornamentals from emerging systemic pathogens.
https://nimss.org/projects/view/mrp/outline/18910

Iowa State University welcomed more than 7,000 students this week for the Iowa FFA Leadership Conference, and for a group of curious young leaders, the experience included a hands-on dive into the invisible world of microbes.
Inside the Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) teaching lab and research space, Dr. Melha Mellata, Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology, and her graduate student, Caleb Skow, hosted an engaging microbiology outreach event to connect classroom science with real-world agriculture and food safety.
https://www.ppem.iastate.edu/news/2026/balloons-bacteria-ffa-students-explore-microbiology-iowa-state

IM Students Present at IBSS 2026!!
Students from the Interdepartmental Microbiology graduate program participated in the 4th Annual Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Symposium (IBSS 2026), held April 16, 2026, at the Memorial Union. The symposium brings together researchers from across biological sciences at Iowa State University to share their work and connect across disciplines.
At this year’s event, Tyler Simpkins and Nayrmaliz Marrero presented posters highlighting their research. Events like IBSS offer valuable opportunities for students to share their work, engage with other researchers, and take part in interdisciplinary scientific discussion.

We had a fantastic time at this year’s spring retreat!
A huge thank you to everyone who presented their work and contributed to such engaging discussions, as well as to all who attended and helped create a supportive and energizing environment.
We’d also like to extend a special thank you to our keynote speaker, Dr. Alexander Meeske from the University of Washington, for sharing his work on Anti-CRISPRs!
We’re grateful for such a strong and collaborative community, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s retreat!

Please join us in celebrating Marissa Roghair Stroud on the successful defense of her doctoral dissertation🥳🤩 We are excited to see what’s next for Marissa as she starts her journey as an official Ph.D.

Have you ever wondered what concentration of molybdenum (Mo) limits nitrogen fixation? Zak Stevenson (Microbiology PhD ’24) studied Deming Lake, where Mo was barely detectable, and surprisingly, nitrogen fixation was not Mo-limited. This was determined by adding Mo and observing no change in nitrogen fixation rates. One possible explanation is that the very low sulfate in this lake allows for highly efficient Mo uptake without the use of alternative nitrogenases that do not require Mo (i.e., V-Fe, Fe-Fe). Alternative nitrogenases were not detected through metagenomics or metatranscriptomics.

Lead author Zackry Stevenson (Ph.D.) spent extensive time at Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories to carry out this study. This study was also made possible by major contributions from Dylan Schultz (Microbiology PhD ’25) and Michelle Chamberlain (current Microbiology PhD candidate)!

Learn more about this cool study from the link below:

Lowering the Mo limit for nitrogen fixation by Mo-nitrogenase - Communications Earth & Environment Substantial nitrogen fixation at sub-nanomolar molybdenum concentrations without alternative nitrogenases, with important implications for early Earth primary productivity, according to results from a ferruginous, low-sulfate, low-Mo, cyanobacteria-dominated lake.

Students from the Interdepartmental Microbiology graduate program recently attended the 13th biannual All Iowa Virology Symposium, where they joined researchers from across the state for two days of scientific exchange and discussion focused on virology!
Three IM students presented their research. Carter Casey from the Olmedo-Velarde Lab gave an oral presentation titled “Virus Prevalence in Iowa Soybeans and Grapes.” Tyler Simpkins from the Blitvich Lab presented a poster titled “Proximity-Based Mapping of the NS3 Protein Interactome: Comparing Dual-Host and Insect-Specific Flaviviruses.” Kota Nakasato from the Olmedo-Velarde Lab also presented a poster, “An Infectious Clone and Nextstrain Workflow for Soybean dwarf virus Enable Genomic Surveillance and Functional Follow-Up in Iowa.”
The symposium gave students an opportunity to learn about current research, hear from experts across multiple areas of virology, and connect with other scientists and trainees. The event also gave IM students a chance to share their work and represent the program within Iowa’s virology research community.

https://iowavirology.cvm.iastate.edu