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What is the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University in St. Louis?
The Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University in St. Louis is an academic research department focused on how microorganisms—viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi—interact with their hosts and cause disease. Its page is a faculty-and-research showcase rather than a student services or admissions portal: it introduces the people, labs and projects that make up the department.
H3 What the department covers Based on the faculty and research described on the page, the work spans several areas of infectious disease biology:
- Parasitology: Stephen Beverley's long-running work on Leishmania, and David Sibley's research on Cryptosporidium, a common cause of diarrheal illness.
- Virology: Sean Whelan's research, including cellular assays tied to coronavirus vaccine work, and Carolina Lopez's studies of the relationship between a virus and the organism it infects.
- Microbiome and gut biology: David Wang's lab studies viruses in the gut and how they affect health and disease; Jeffrey Gordon's group is associated with microbiome research.
- Bacterial pathogenesis: Christina Stallings' lab appears in the page's research imagery, with graduate students, postdocs and research staff working together.
H3 Who it is for The page reads as a resource for prospective graduate students and postdocs looking for a lab, current trainees checking faculty interests, journalists or collaborators seeking experts, and anyone trying to understand what molecular microbiology research looks like in practice. The recurring images of faculty with graduate students, postdoctoral associates and research technicians signal that training and mentorship are part of the department's identity, not just bench science.
H3 How to use it Start with the "Meet our faculty" section and read individual faculty entries to match a specific disease or organism to a lab. If you are considering graduate study, note which labs pair a senior professor with named trainees—that pattern often indicates an active, funded research group. For a broader view of the university's medical research enterprise, the department sits within Washington University in St. Louis and its medical school, WashU Medicine.
One practical caveat: a department page is a snapshot, not a directory of open positions or current projects. If you are evaluating it as a prospective student or collaborator, use the faculty listings as a starting point and then check each lab's own pages or recent publications for the most current work.
What research areas and diseases are studied by the faculty in this department?
The department's research centers on disease-causing microbes and the molecular biology of infection. Its faculty pages and lab descriptions point to work on parasites, viruses, and host–microbe interactions, with a strong emphasis on pathogens that cause serious human disease.
H3 Areas of study
- Parasitology: Leishmania parasites and leishmaniasis (Stephen Beverley's long-running focus), plus Cryptosporidium, an intestinal parasite linked to diarrhea, studied by David Sibley's group.
- Virology: virus–host relationships (Carolina Lopez), gut viruses and their effects on health and disease (David Wang), and coronavirus research including vaccine-related cellular assays (Sean Whelan).
- Bacterial pathogenesis and host interaction: how bacteria cause infection and interact with host tissues, represented by faculty such as Siyuan Ding, Tamara Doering, Mario Feldman, Christina Stallings, and Michele LeRoux.
- Microbiome and microbial communities: the relationship between microbes and their hosts, including work connected to Jeffrey Gordon's microbiome research.
H3 Diseases and pathogens
- Leishmaniasis (a potentially fatal parasitic infection)
- Cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium-related diarrheal disease)
- COVID-19 and other coronavirus infections
- Gut infections and virus-driven intestinal disease
- Fungal and bacterial infections, including those studied through host–pathogen interaction models
H3 Which labs to look at first If you are a prospective student or collaborator, match your interest to a lab rather than the department as a whole:
| Interest | Faculty to explore |
|---|---|
| Parasites and neglected tropical disease | Stephen Beverley, David Sibley |
| Viruses, including coronaviruses | Sean Whelan, Carolina Lopez, David Wang |
| Bacteria and host response | Siyuan Ding, Christina Stallings, Michele LeRoux |
| Fungal pathogens | Tamara Doering |
| Microbiome and microbial communities | Jeffrey Gordon and affiliated groups |
Start with the "Meet our faculty" page on the department site, then read two or three individual lab pages to see which uses techniques and model systems that match your background.
How can prospective PhD students apply to the Molecular Microbiology program?
Prospective PhD students typically apply to WashU's Department of Molecular Microbiology through the university's centralized graduate admissions system, not by contacting individual labs directly. At WashU, molecular microbiology PhD training runs through the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences (DBBS), so your application is submitted to DBBS and you indicate molecular microbiology as your program of interest.
Department of Molecular Microbiology | Washington University in St. Louis
What the department's faculty page tells you The department's faculty roster is the best starting point for deciding whether to apply. Listed researchers include Stephen Beverley, PhD (leishmaniasis), Siyuan Ding, PhD, Tamara L. Doering, MD, PhD, and Mario F. Feldman, PhD, among others. Reviewing these labs before applying helps you write a specific, credible research statement and identify potential rotation mentors.
Department of Molecular Microbiology | Washington University in St. Louis
Practical application steps
- Go to the DBBS admissions page and confirm the current application deadline and required materials (typically transcripts, statements, and letters of recommendation).
- Identify 2–3 faculty whose work fits your interests, and mention them by name in your research statement.
- Apply to DBBS with molecular microbiology as your chosen program.
- Prepare for interviews, where you'll discuss rotation options with faculty.
A useful decision criterion If your interest is host–pathogen interaction, parasitology, or virology, this department's breadth is a strong match; if your focus is outside microbiology, compare DBBS's other programs before committing. Verify all deadlines and requirements on the official DBBS site, since these change yearly.
What opportunities are available for undergraduate students to get involved in molecular microbiology research?
Undergraduate research in molecular microbiology at WashU is generally arranged by joining a faculty lab rather than through a single centralized program. The department's own pages point you toward its faculty roster as the starting point, so the practical path is: identify two or three labs whose work you find genuinely interesting, read a recent paper from each, then email the professor with a short note about why that specific project appeals to you.
Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University in St. Louis
What to expect from the department's research areas
The faculty listed span several distinct areas, which matters because your day-to-day work will look very different depending on the lab:
- Parasitology — Stephen Beverley's long-running work on Leishmania is a good example of a lab where undergraduates can contribute to culture-based and genetic experiments.
- Fungal and parasitic pathogens — Tamara Doering and Mario Feldman work on disease-causing organisms, often with a molecular and structural emphasis.
- Virology and host–pathogen interaction — Carolina Lopez studies how a virus relates to the organism it infects, a theme that suits students interested in immunology as well as microbiology.
- Microbiome and gut biology — David Wang's work on viruses in the gut connects microbiology to human health and disease.
- Bacterial genetics and pathogenesis — labs such as Christina Stallings's combine graduate students, postdocs and research technicians, which is typically the environment an undergraduate joins.
How to turn interest into a position
A concrete scenario: you are a sophomore who enjoyed a microbiology course and want lab experience before applying to graduate or medical school. Rather than emailing ten professors at once, pick three. For each, name one paper and one technique you would like to learn — for example, "I read your recent work on Cryptosporidium culture and would like to learn molecular cloning and microscopy." That specificity is what distinguishes a request that gets a reply from one that does not.
Trade-offs to weigh
| Path | Advantage | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Lab during the semester | Steady mentorship, builds over time | Limited hours; experiments may not fit a class schedule |
| Full-time summer research | Immersion, faster skill growth | Competitive; requires planning a semester ahead |
| Independent project or thesis | Ownership, strong for graduate applications | Demands more initiative and a longer commitment |
Decision criteria
Ask three questions before committing: Can the lab accommodate a student with your current experience level? Is there a graduate student or postdoc who will actually supervise you day to day? And does the project have a defined piece you can own, rather than only washing glassware?
Your next step: browse the faculty list on the department site, choose three labs, and send a brief, specific email to each. If you are also considering other institutions, comparing how their departments organize undergraduate research can clarify what you want — for instance UCLA Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics or University of Michigan Department of Microbiology and Immunology — but the strongest move is still a direct, well-researched note to a professor whose work you have actually read.
Who are the faculty members and what are their specific research interests?
The department lists faculty by name and degree, but the page itself does not spell out each person's research focus. The research interests below come from the surrounding lab descriptions and captions on the page, so treat them as the department's own framing rather than full research statements.
Faculty named on the page
- Stephen Beverley, PhD — former head of molecular microbiology; the page says he has spent most of his career studying leishmaniasis, including Leishmania parasite offspring and treatment for deadly infections.
- Siyuan Ding, PhD — listed among faculty; the page gives no research description for him.
- Tamara L. Doering, MD, PhD — listed among faculty; no research description on the page.
- Mario F. Feldman, PhD — listed among faculty; no research description on the page.
- Carolina Lopez, PhD — a BJC Investigator in molecular microbiology; the page describes her work on the relationship between a virus and the organism it infects.
- David Sibley, PhD — professor of molecular microbiology; his lab work is tied to treatment for Cryptosporidium, an intestinal parasite grown in the lab using a new technique.
- David Wang, PhD — studies viruses in the gut and how they affect health and disease.
- Sean Whelan, PhD — shown examining cellular assays while researching a Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine.
- Christina Stallings, PhD — leads a lab with graduate students, research technicians and postdoctoral associates (names include Joseph Adjei, George Ghabrial, Marick Starick, Samuel McKee and Shuying Xu).
- Jeffrey Gordon, MD — participated in the Eras of the Microbiome Symposium; the page does not describe his specific interests.
- Meng Wu, PhD — a molecular microbiology PhD who presents her research; no topic is given.
- Michael Caparon, Michele LeRoux, Wandy Beatty, Ting Zhang, Deborah Dobson, Sondra Schlesinger and Dave Wang appear in a faculty group photo caption; research areas are not stated for them.
How to use this
If you are a prospective student or collaborator, the page is best read as a directory plus a set of lab snapshots, not as a research-interest index. To compare labs, open the individual faculty pages linked from "Meet our faculty" and look for recent publications and current projects.
A practical next step: pick two or three names whose described work matches your interest — for example, host–virus interactions (Lopez), gut viruses (Wang), or parasite treatment (Sibley, Beverley) — and email those labs directly with a short note about your background and what you want to work on. The department sits within Washington University School of Medicine; for broader context on the university, see Washington University in St. Louis.
How can I contact or visit the department for seminars, collaborations, or media inquiries?
For seminars, collaborations, or media inquiries, start with the department's own website. It lists faculty, research areas, and news, but the page evidence does not include a phone number, email address, or visitor address, so the practical route is to identify the right person or group first and then use the contact details published on their individual profile or lab page.
Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University in St. Louis
Match your reason to the right contact
- Seminars: look for the department's seminars or events listing, or contact the faculty member hosting the speaker. Seminar inquiries are usually handled by a departmental administrator rather than a single professor.
- Collaborations: contact the faculty member whose work overlaps with yours. The page names researchers in parasitology, virology, bacterial pathogenesis, and the microbiome, so a targeted message will get a faster response than a general one.
- Media inquiries: contact the university's media relations office rather than individual labs. Researchers are often traveling or in the lab, and media offices can arrange interviews and confirm details.
- Visiting: the department is part of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Check the school's visitor information for directions, parking, and building access before you plan a trip.
A quick comparison
| Goal | Best first contact | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Attend a seminar | Department events page or seminar organizer | They know the schedule and whether talks are open |
| Propose a collaboration | Faculty member with matching research | Scientific fit matters more than formal channels |
| Request an interview | University media relations | Handles scheduling and institutional approval |
| Visit in person | School visitor information | Covers parking, access, and building locations |
What to put in your message
State who you are, your institution or outlet, and your specific interest in one or two sentences. Name the faculty member or research topic you are asking about. If you are proposing a collaboration, mention a concrete project or shared technique. If you are a journalist, include your deadline and the format you need.
For a next step, open the faculty list, pick the person closest to your topic, and use the contact details on that profile. If you cannot find a direct address, contact the school's main media or administrative office and ask them to route your request.
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