The Committee on Microbiology

The Committee on Microbiology is an educational program for graduate students towards the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Microbiology, as well as a research and teaching enterprise in the Pritzker School of Medicine and The University of Chicago.  The College of the University of Chicago also offers an undergraduate concentration in the study of microbiology.

Microbiology is a field of science that examines microbial life forms, their physiological properties and structures as well as their ability to cause human, animal or plant diseases. The identification of microbial life forms in the 19th century and their rigorous study in the 20th century led to a revolution in medicine and science.  The field of microbiology is responsible for doubling human life expectancy in the past fifty years through achievements in anti-microbial therapy, vaccine development and the enforcement of antiseptic and hygienic principles.  Microbiology has led to the prevention of plant disease, increasing crop yields and food supplies for people around the globe.  It has also revealed the principles of heredity and molecular biology through the study of bacteria and bacteriophages. 

Future research in microbiology will need to identify new anti-bacterial therapies by exploiting knowledge of genes that are required for pathogenesis but not for replication outside the host. Microbiology research will need to identify anti-viral therapies and vaccination strategies that combat some of the most dangerous and abundant infectious diseases of human societies.  Having provided the scientific tools for advances in molecular biology and in the genetic analysis of human disease, microbiology will  also need to provide the research and therapeutic tools required to cure human inheritable diseases by supplying techniques for genetic exchange.

Modern microbiology is a flourishing science at The University of Chicago; we attract excellent students and post-graduate scientists from around the world, who continue to push the frontiers of microbiological sciences.  Although Microbiology is an accomplished discipline at The University of Chicago, the Committee on Microbiology is a new enterprise.  It will expand further in the next five years with the recruitment of several new faculty and the completion of new research space.  Using this website, please inform yourself about our research accomplishments and opportunities as well as our educational programs.  The Committee on Microbiology is an energized cutting-edge research enterprise and a fun place to do science.  I invite you to become a part of the Committee on Microbiology!