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1977 B.A., Biochemistry, Rice University
1983 Ph.D., Biochemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
1983-85 Postdoctoral Fellow, Immunology (Cancer Biology), Stanford University
1985-89 Assistant Professor of Biology, Mills College
1989-92 Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology, Swarthmore College
1992-1996 Assistant Professor of Biology, Swarthmore College
2003-05 Chair, Department of Biology
2004-present Professor of Biology
As the only faculty member in this department who studies
and teaches about prokaryotes, I take every opportunity
to increase awareness about the contributions of bacteria
and archaea to the history of the earth and their impact
on humans.
Cool facts about bacteria:
• many bacteria are easy to
culture, have short generation times (20-30 minutes),
• we can modify genes in bacteria
and see what effects they have fairly quickly
• bacteria are marvelously
diverse, occupying many unique niches.
- some thrive
in hot water pipes
- some survive
under many feet of Antarctic ice
- some only
live in the guts of large deep sea-dwelling red tube worms
• they make many different
kinds of products
- flavors
in cheeses (almost all of the smelly ones!)
- yogurt, soy
sauce, sauerkraut, and many other foods
- enzymes
that we use in out laundry detergent
- enzyme
used in PCR for diagnostics and forensics
• they can extract energy
from
- the sun
- rocks
- hot sulfurous
gas from deep thermal ocean vents
- methane
bogs
To humans they are important
•
to basic research about life on earth
• for biotechnological
applications
• only some cause nasty
diseases
• others make products
with antibacterial activity, used to limit disease
• many degrade wastes
that are toxic to other life forms
• those that live naturally
in and on our bodies protect us from harmful organisms
I have said elsewhere that it is a great time to be a microbiologist.
It is certainly a privilege to spend my time at Swarthmore
engaging students in classroom and laboratory activities
that explore the world of bacteria.
Amy Vollmer's CV (pdf)
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