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Alison Buchan, Carolyn W. Fite Professor and associate head of microbiology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was recently elected as a 2022 Fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology. This is an honor that recognizes service, leadership, and creative achievement in the field of microbiology.
The fellow selection process is based on several factors, such as scientific and innovative achievements. This year, only 65 professors from across the world received the honor.
“I am humbled and honored to join the ranks of the American Academy of Microbiologists,” Buchan said. ”I am grateful to my many past and current mentors, supporters, and also the many talented and inspiring undergraduate and graduate students that I have had the unique privilege to work with over the years.”
Buchan’s expertise in her discipline has a broad scope. She is a microbial ecologist who studies the interactions bacteria have with one another and more recently she is studying the viruses that infect them. She is also trained as a microbiologist (MSc) and a marine scientist (PhD). The multidisciplinary research Buchan has accomplished at UT has given her the opportunity to collaborate with several other scientists such as chemists, geochemists, and modelers.
“Science is most definitely a team effort and I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with fabulous students, faculty and research staff here at UT.”