Seth Bordenstein, Ph.D.
Professor-Centennial Endowed Chair, Department of Biological Sciences and Biomedical Informatics
Director, Vanderbilt Microbiome Initiative (VMI)
- : s.bordenstein@Vanderbilt.Edu
- : (615) 322-9087
- :
U7211 MRBIII
- : More Information/Publications
Areas of Interest: Infectious Diseases and Immunity; Protein Structure & Function; High-Throughput Technology; Mass Spectrometry & Omics Analysis; Imaging; Antibody & Protein Expression
Dr. Bordenstein has studied animal-microbe symbioses and microbiomes for 25 years. He is an evolutionary geneticist and microbiologist in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. He is the founding director of The Vanderbilt Microbiome Initiative and the worldwide HHMI-initiated science education program Discover the Microbes Within! The Wolbachia Project. He is also Associate Director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation. His laboratory endeavors to understand the evolutionary and genetic principles that shape symbiotic interactions between animals, microbes, and viruses and the major applications of these interactions to human health. Towards these goals, the lab employs hypothesis-driven approaches to study intimate symbioses between arthropods and obligate intracellular bacteria that modify sexual reproduction and facultative symbioses between animals and gut microbes that impact animal health, fitness, and evolution. He is the recipient of the 2014 Jeffrey Nordhaus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 2014 Chancellor’s Award for Research, 2018 Chancellor Faculty Fellow Award from Vanderbilt University, and 2020 Genetics Society of America Award for Excellence in Education.