Six UW-Madison microbiology researchers receive honor

Six University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty members have been elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM). They are among only 80 fellows elected this year.

They include:

• Richard R. Burgess, professor of oncology, who identified sigma factors, which are proteins that guide RNA polymerase to transcribe specific sets of genes. His lab studies the molecular machinery that makes RNA from DNA to better understand RNA synthesis and its regulation, as well as identify new compounds with antimicrobial activity.
• Richard L. Gourse, professor of bacteriology, who studies how activator proteins stimulate the expression of specific genes. His research focuses on the mechanism that starts transcription, or the process by which RNA is formed from DNA.
• Jo Handelsman, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute professor and a plant pathologist, who researches the structure and function of microbial communities. She has helped develop new techniques for accessing the genetic potential of previously untamable soil microbes.
• Robert C. Landick, professor of bacteriology, who works to obtain a molecular blueprint of the architecture of transcription machinery. His lab studies how RNA polymerase (the enzyme that transcribes genes) responds to stop and start signals as it decodes genetic information.
• Rodney A. Welch, professor of medical microbiology and immunology, who studies the genetic and biochemical characteristics of toxins produced by different clinical isolates of E. Coli.
• John A.T. Young, professor of oncology and the Howard M. Temin Professor of Cancer Research, known for his work with anthrax. In recent studies, he has identified receptors, or docking structures, that the anthrax toxin binds to before it enter cells.

“This campus has a history of carrying out cutting-edge research, and it is wonderful that this work is being recognized in this way,” says James Dahlberg, a UW–Madison professor of biomolecular chemistry and a member of the AAM’s Board of Governors. He adds that admission into the organization is highly selective and is an indication that one has earned the respect of peers as being a leader in the field.

The AAM is an honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology, which is the world’s oldest and largest life-science organization. The mission of the society, as well as the academy, is to advance the microbiological sciences and promote the use of scientific knowledge for improved health, economic and environmental well-being.