Research Field Guide
How to Get a Microbiology Research Position
To get a Microbiology research position, find professors who are actively publishing in Microbiology, read what they actually work on, and email one of them a short, specific note. Most of the work happens in person, so being on campus and reliable in the lab matters.
Below are 12 professors publishing in Microbiology right now, what each is working on, and how to reach out. Every name and topic is pulled from real, recent publication data, not a generic list.
Microbiology professors who are actively publishing
| Professor | Institution | Recent research focus |
|---|---|---|
| Tomislav Meštrović | University of Washington | Reproductive tract infections research |
| Tomas Ganz | University of California, Los Angeles | Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities |
| Andrew J. Pollard | University of Oxford | Bacterial Infections and Vaccines |
| Jacques Ravel | Human Genome Sciences (United States) | Reproductive tract infections research |
| Bradford D. Gessner | Pfizer (United States) | Bacterial Infections and Vaccines |
| José das Neves | i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto | Reproductive tract infections research |
| Robert E. W. Hancock | University of British Columbia | Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities |
| Chris J.L.M. Meijer | Dutch Cancer Society | Reproductive tract infections research |
| Hugh R. Taylor | The University of Melbourne | Reproductive tract infections research |
| Thomas C. Quinn | National Institutes of Health | Reproductive tract infections research |
| Mark Schiffman | National Institutes of Health | Reproductive tract infections research |
| Richard L. Gallo | UC San Diego Health System | Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities |
Sourced from OpenAlex publication records. Click a name to see their full profile and recent papers.
What Microbiology research involves
Microbiology studies bacteria, viruses, fungi, and the ways they cause disease, cycle nutrients, and interact with hosts. Labs split across a few camps: molecular and cellular groups that dissect how single microbes grow, signal, and resist drugs; microbiome and ecology groups that study whole communities using sequencing; and pathogenesis groups that work on infection and host defense. Most of this work is hands-on at the bench. You are culturing organisms, running assays, and handling samples under sterile technique, so being on campus and dependable in the lab matters. That said, microbiome and genomics work has a real computational side, analyzing sequencing data, that can be done partly remotely. Read a professor's recent papers first to tell whether they are a wet-lab, sequencing, or mixed group.
How to email a Microbiology professor
Microbiology is mostly a wet-lab field, so for most groups the right offer is to be on-site, learn their techniques, and be careful and reliable with protocols and sterile work. If the lab does microbiome or genomics research, you can also offer to help analyze sequencing data and name a skill: Python, R, or QIIME experience. Figure out which kind of lab it is from their recent papers, then point to one specific paper, name the organism or system it studied, and ask one concrete question about the method or result. Mention any lab coursework or bench experience you have. Keep it under 150 words and never call the work groundbreaking.
Microbiology overlaps with nearby fields. If you are casting a wider net, look at research positions in Immunology, Molecular Biology, Genetics, and Biochemistry.