Dr. Chris W. Marshall

My research program addresses two grand challenges in science: antimicrobial resistance and quantifying global biogeochemical cycling. In the first, I am interested in how diversity and metabolic changes in biofilms contribute to the alarming and expanding problem of antibiotic resistance. In the second, I study anaerobic metabolisms associated with biogeochemical cycles as a biotechnological and ecological source of innovation. Traditionally these disciplines don’t intersect. I would argue, however, that microbial ecology and evolution mediated by metabolic feedback lie at the core of each. Metabolic byproducts can open up new niches that influence eco-evolutionary dynamics and vice versa. Insights into diversification, resilience, resource competition, and cooperation in one system (environment) can inform another (host). Furthermore, the practical component uniting my research program is the study of ecology and evolution in anaerobic biofilms, particularly those that experience limiting resources (e.g. mucosal surfaces or natural environments). In addition, I am keenly interested in developing novel engineered devices and bioinformatic tools to address key scientific questions. Antibiotic tolerance is the transcriptional/translational change in metabolism that allows for microorganisms to persist in the presence of antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance, on the other hand, is the heritable changes in genomes that render the antibiotics ineffective. I am interested in using high-throughput, automated serial passaging innovations to study antimicrobial tolerance and resistance in biofilm populations. Specifically, I am interested in multi-strain and species interactions that alter antibiotic resistance outcomes. In addition to microbial community dynamics in the presence of antibiotics, I explore the interplay between tolerance and resistance that arises in anaerobic biofilms. Life is the movement of electrons for the purpose of energy conservation. The scope of these electron transfer reactions in bacteria and archaea is beautifully eloquent and diverse. I use bioelectrochemical systems (electrodes) to monitor electron transfer reactions in biofilms. These systems allow for the real-time study of metabolic activity, disturbance challenges, diffusion limitations, and turnover of the microbial community.