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Dr. Michele Culumber
 

 

Teaching Philosophy & Focus

Microorganisms impact almost every part of our lives and environments. I enjoy sharing the many ways that we interact with microorganisms and hope to capture students' interest and motivate them to become scholars of microbiology. I also hope to encourage students to see how microbiology influences their lives and their careers.

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Courses Taught

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Research Areas of Interest

I am interested in studying unique microorganisms in unique environments. I've done research on microbes in contaminated groundwater, Hawaiian soils, Peat Bogs, The Great Salt Lake, and Cheddar cheese.

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Specific Projects

Recently we identified, and named, a new organism, Lactobacillus wasatchensis, which causes gas development in aging cheese. This appears to be a widespread problem in the cheese industry. We are looking for the source of this organism in the environment and trying to identify its metabolic pathways and mechanisms to inhibit its growth or ability to produce gas. I support the BUILD Dairy program and mentor research students interested in dairy or food science careers. I am also interested in a project that investigates microorganisms fount in the environment such as soil actinomycetes. Recently, I've enjoyed looking for Tardigrades (water bears).

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Publications

Culumber, M., McMahon, D.J., Ortakci, F., Montierth, L., Villalba, B., Broadbent, J. and Oberg, C. 2017. Hot topic: Geographical distribution and strain diversity of Lactobacillus wasatchensis isolated from cheese with unwanted gas formation. J. Dairy Sci., 100 (11):8764-8767.

Oberg, C. J., T. S. Oberg, M. C. Culumber, F. Ortakci, J. R. Broadbent and D. J. McMahon. 2016. Lactobacillus wasatchensis sp. nov., a non-starter lactic acid bacteria isolated from aged Cheddar cheese. Int. J. System. Evol. Microbiol. 66:158-164

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Referral Websites

 

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