New Microbiology faculty members

The Franklin College’s Department of Microbiology recently hired two senior faculty members, both of whom bring an impressive record of research and teaching to UGA.

Jorge C. Escalante-Semerena comes to UGA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his work focuses on a number of areas that impact human health. Among his interests are the use of vitamin B12 derivatives for cancer therapy and the modification of bacterial proteins to study aging.

“Dr. Downs is an exceptional bacterial physiologist with an unusual knack for connecting dots to identify the bigger-picture implications,” Whitman said. “In addition to its contributions to our fundamental understanding of how bacteria work, her work has many applications in the development of new strategies for antimicrobial intervention.  In this way, Dr. Downs will be an important addition to the University of Georgia’s current strengths in Salmonella, Shigella, and Helicobacter research, extending to the Center for Drug Discovery, the Center for Food Safety, and the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center.”

Dr. Downs is also a passionate teacher and has received teaching awards at both the undergraduate and graduate level.  In addition to mentoring 15 doctoral students, she has also supervised the research of 14 master students, eight high school students, and over 60 University of Wisconsin undergraduates.