James M. Tiedje
Michigan State University
|
Primary Section: 63, Environmental Sciences and Ecology Secondary Section: 44, Microbial Biology Membership Type:
Member
(elected 2003)
|
Biosketch
Dr. Tiedje is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University, and was Director of the NSF Center for Microbial Ecology for 30 years. His contributions have been on microbial ecology, physiology and diversity, especially regarding the nitrogen cycle, biodegradation of pollutants and on the use of genomics and metagenomics to understand speciation, community structure and functions. Dr. Tiedje was born in Newton Iowa, and grew up on a farm near there. He graduated with a BS from Iowa State University and a Ph.D from Cornell University in 1968. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Applied and Environmental Microbiology and Editor of Microbial and Molecular Biology Reviews and mBio. He served on the Board on Life Sciences of the National Research Council, EPA’s Science Advisory Panel and on DOE’s Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee. He was President of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and the International Society of Microbial Ecology (ISME). He is Fellow of the AAAS, the American Academy of Microbiology, the Ecological Society of America, the Soil Science Society of America, and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Research Interests
Dr. Tiedje is a microbial ecologist with a focus on linking community structure, dynamics and function, and was an early user of molecular methods to unravel the complexities of microbial communities and their functions. He worked primarily in the soil environment. Is current research is on antibiotic resistance in the environment, its sources, features and interventions to minimize the spread of that risk, and on the microbiome of very deep soils, its adaptations, activities and novelty.
