Circadian Rhythms in Bacteria and Microbiomes

Carl Hirschie Johnson earned his B.A. at the University of Texas, followed by graduate work with Colin Pittendrigh, a pioneer of chronobiology, at Stanford University. A postdoctoral fellowship with the clocks and bioluminescence expert J. Woodland (‘Woody’) Hastings at Harvard University completed his training. Johnson is now Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University, and his laboratory studies circadian biological clocks from perspectives ranging from molecules (biochemistry and biophysics) to populations (evolution and adaptive fitness). He served as President of the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (SRBR), the major international society of chronobiologists in 2012-2014.

Michael Rust earned his B.S. in Physics & Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA, USA, and did his Ph.D. in Physics at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Michael Rust is now Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology & the Department of Physics in the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. He is also the Director of the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics. Dr. Rust and his research group have the goal of combining experimental measurements with mathematical analyses to understand dynamical behavior in biology. A major focus of the lab is the circadian clock in cyanobacteria, where a system of purified proteins is capable of generating a remarkably robust 24-hour oscillation in protein phosphorylation that is used to organize cellular physiology.