Michele S. Swanson is an American biologist who is a professor of microbiology at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. She has investigated the water-borne pathogen ''

Legionella pneumophila ''Legionella pneumophila'', the primary causative agent for Legionnaires' disease, Legionnaire's disease, is an Aerobic organism, aerobic, pleomorphic, Flagellum, flagellated, non-spore-forming, Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-negative bacterium. ' ...

''. Swanson is interested in the metabolic cues that underpin the virulence of ''L. pneumophila'' and how it is transmitted to humans. She served as president of the

American Society for Microbiology The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It wa ...

in 2018.

Early life and education

Swanson grew up in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, one of six children in her family. Her father was the first member of his family to attend university. Swanson spent her summer holidays playing sports at Michigan summer camps, where she played field hockey and softball. Swanson eventually earned her bachelor's degree at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where she worked as a counsellor for freshmen at

Davenport College Davenport College (colloquially referred to as D'port) is one of the fourteen residential colleges of Yale University. Its buildings were completed in 1933 mainly in the Georgian style but with a gothic façade along York Street. The college ...

. Swanson was inspired by John Trinkaus to pursue a career in experimental biology. After graduating from Yale, Swanson joined

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

as a laboratory technician. She moved to

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

for her graduate studies, where she earned a master's degree in

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

under the supervision of

Marian Carlson Marian Bille Carlson is a geneticist and the Director of Life Sciences at the Simons Foundation. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a past president of the Genetics Society of America. Education and career Carlson received h ...

. Swanson joined the laboratory of Fred Winston at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where she completed her doctoral research on the interactions of various transcription factors with yeast. She was a postdoctoral researcher at Tufts Medical Center, where she first became interested in ''

''.

Research and career

In 1996, Swanson joined the faculty at the

. Swanson has studied how ''

'' remains virulent in different environments. She identified that the pathogen alternates between different cell types, one which is highly replicative and another which is highly transmissible that is primed to invade naïve hosts. After extended periods of starvation, ''L. pneumophila'' forms a highly infectious form. Swanson showed that ''L. pneumophila'' achieves these distinct cell types by coupling cellular differentiation to the metabolic state. ''L. pneumophila'' can cause sporadic outbreaks of

Legionnaires' disease Legionnaires' disease is a form of atypical pneumonia caused by any species of ''Legionella'' bacteria, quite often ''Legionella pneumophila''. Signs and symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, high fever, myalgia, muscle pains, and headach ...

. This was responsible for the

Flint water crisis The Flint water crisis was a public health crisis from 2014 to 2019 which involved the drinking water for the city of Flint, Michigan, being contaminated with lead and possibly ''Legionella'' bacteria. In April 2014, during a financial crisis, ...

that started in 2014. Swanson has studied the mechanisms that permit ''L. pneumophila'' to persist in water, looking to create a microbiology based system to assess the safety of public water systems.

Academic service

Swanson serves as the director of postgraduate studies and President's Advisory Commission on Women's Issues at the

. She was elected president of the

in 2018 and hosts the ASM podcast ''This Week in Microbiology''. She was elected Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

in 2019.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swanson, Michele American biologists American women scientists Academics from Michigan Yale University alumni Columbia University alumni Harvard University alumni University of Michigan faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Presidents of the American Society for Microbiology Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women academics 21st-century American women Biologists from Michigan