Microbiology

Dr. Andrew Benson teaches food microbiology and advanced food microbiology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His two primary research areas are genome evolution in pathogenic bacteria and evolution and development of our microflora. In 2017, Benson established the Nebraska Food for Health Center, a $40.3 million collaboration among academic researchers, food and drug manufacturers and philanthropists to improve human health by linking agriculture and food production to wellness and disease prevention through microbiome research. Benson pioneered study of the gut microbiome as a complex trait, demonstrating how individual host genetic factors control microbial species that make up the microbiome. Benson works closely with an interdisciplinary team of crop plant geneticists who use genetic analysis to define molecular components of grains that affect the human gut microbiome. He has received more than $25 million in competitive grant funding. He serves as a consultant and expert witness for applications of bacterial genomics and population genetics in litigation for food-borne outbreaks and product labeling.

Karrie Weber is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. She is an expert on bacteria. Her research interests focus on the intricate interactions between microorganisms (including viruses) and the environment at the molecular scale, the ecosystem scale, and ultimately, the global scale. Weber received her Ph.D. from the University of Alabama and her B.S. from Texas A&M University.