Two faculty members in the Microbiology department, Kim Halsey and Tom Sharpton, have been promoted to Professor.

Dr. Halsey is an environmental microbiologist. Her research focuses on processes that control the flow of carbon and energy through the microbial carbon cycle. She investigates the strategies phytoplankton use to optimize their growth and interact with surrounding bacteria. She is an enthusiastic educator and was named the Excellence in Microbiology Faculty Scholar in 2021.

Dr. Thomas Sharpton is a Professor of Microbiology and Statistics. He joined OSU as a faculty member in 2013 and has since developed an internationally recognized research program that uses systems biology methods to resolve the gut microbiome’s influence on the health and behavior of vertebrates. His lab is well known for developing computational and quantitative strategies for the analysis of microbiomic and metagenomic data as well as the integration of data across study systems ranging from fish to humans. He has published over 100 manuscripts, edits and advises for a variety of microbiology and systems biology research journals, and serves as the founding director of the OSU Microbiome Initiative as well as the Director of the OSU Microbiome Core Facility.

Congratulations to Dr. Halsey and Dr. Sharpton!