Gemma Reguera

Gemma Reguera
  • Professor
  • Applied and environmental microbiology, electromicrobiology, geomicrobiology, bioremediation, synthetic biology
  • Microbiology, Genetics and Immunology
  • Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development in the College of Natural Science

WEBSITE

BIOGRAPHY

Gemma Reguera is a Professor of Microbiology, Genetics & Immunology, and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development in the College of Natural Science at Michigan State University. She has a broad background in applied and environmental microbiology, with research projects spanning human, terrestrial, and anthropogenic environments. She holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and received a postdoctoral fellowship from Spain’s Ministry of Science to work on the ecology of infectious diseases with Prof. Roberto Kolter (Harvard Medical School) and later in metal cycling with Prof. Derek Lovley (University of Massachusetts-Amherst). Since joining Michigan State University in 2006, she has led seminal studies to describe the electric nature of metal-reducing microbes and harness their activities to advance the climate economy and environmental justice. These studies have provided new paradigms in biological electron transfer and have established Electromicrobiology as a new subfield in Microbiology. Her group’s research has also led to several patents, industrial partnerships, and training initiatives aimed at bridging the divide between academia and industry. She was elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology in 2019 and appointed in 2021 as Editor in Chief of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, one of the oldest and most recognizable scientific journals of the American Society for Microbiology. More recently, she was recognized by the American Society for Microbiology with the 2024 D. C. White Award for distinguished accomplishments in interdisciplinary research and mentoring in microbiology. Additionally, she serves in the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee (BERAC) of the U.S. Department of Energy and in the Advisory Board of the National Microbiome Data Collective (NMDC), a federal initiative to advance inclusive and interdisciplinary environmental microbiome science by connecting data, people, and ideas. She is also known for her advocacy and initiatives to promote the full participation and advancement of women in the microbial sciences, efforts that were recognized in 2022 with the ASM Alice C. Evans Award from the American Society for Microbiology.

AREA OF EXPERTISE

  • Applied and environmental microbiology
  • electromicrobiology,
  • geomicrobiology,
  • bioremediation,
  • synthetic biology