About Melanie Mormile
Melanie Mormile
Professor
Biological Sciences
M-2 Schrenk Hall
Biography
Melanie Mormile currently serves as the Associate Dean for Research and External Relations for the College of Arts, Sciences, and Business at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. She is also a professor of Biological Sciences. She began her career at Missouri S&T in 1999 as an assistant professor. Prior to joining S&T, she did post-doctoral work for Drs. Jim Fredrickson and Brent Peyton at the Pacific Northwest National Lab. She holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Oklahoma.
At Missouri S&T, Mormile has published on many topics in environmental microbiology that span from the fate of antibiotics in pig waste lagoons, identifying new species of halophilic bacteria, to possible industrial uses of halophiles. She holds two patents on biohydrogen production from cellulosic materials and one on the production of propanediol from waste glycerol, all under alkaline and saline conditions. In addition, Mormile serves as the main faculty advisor for the Mars Rover Design Team (MRDT) of Missouri S&T since its inception in 2012. Along with research, administration, and advising MRDT, she also teaches courses that range from the Introduction to Biological Sciences (freshmen) to Bioremediation (graduate level).
Research
Research interests
Acidophiles, Alkaliphiles, Anaerobic Metabolism, Antibiotic Resistance, Astrobiology, Biodegradation, Bio-Energy Production Bioremediation, Environmental Microbiology, Evaporites, Extremophilic Bacteria, Fluid Inclusions in Salt, Halo-alkaline Lakes, Halophilic Bacteria, Halotolerant Bacteria, Hydrogen, Hypersaline Environments, Soap Lake-Washington State, Acidic Saline Lakes of Southern Western Australia
Publications
- Whole-Genome Analysis of Halomonas sp. Soap Lake #7 Reveals It Possesses Putative Mrp Antiporter Operon Groups 1 and 2 Melanie R Mormile, Tiffany Edwards, Ron Frank, Zachery Geurin, Julie
Haendiges, Maria Hoffmann, Jesse Miller. 2019. Whole-Genome
Analysis of Halomonas sp. Soap Lake #7 Reveals It Possesses Putative
Mrp Antiporter Operon Groups 1 and 2. Genome Biology and
Evolution, 11: 1706-1709. - Microbial communities and their predicted metabolic functions in a desiccating acid salt lake. Zaikova, E., K. Benison, M.R. Mormile, and S.S. Johnson. 2018. Microbial
communities and their predicted metabolic functions in a desiccating
acid salt lake. Extremophiles, 22: 367-379. - NaCl-saturated brines are thermodynamically moderate, rather than extreme, microbial habitats Callum J D Lee, Phillip E McMullan, Callum J O'Kane, Andrew
Stevenson, Ines C Santos, Chayan Roy, Wriddhiman Ghosh, Rocco L
Mancinelli, Melanie R Mormile, Geoffrey McMullan, Horia L Banciu,
Mario A Fares, Kathleen C Benison, Aharon Oren, Mike L Dyall-Smith,
John E Hallsworth. 2018. NaCl-saturated brines are
thermodynamically moderate, rather than extreme, microbial
habitats. FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 42: 672-693. - Complete genome sequence of Salinisphaera sp. LB1, a moderately halo-acidophilic bacterium isolated from Lake Brown, Western Australia. K.B. O'Dell, E.A. Hatmaker, A.M. Guss, and M.R. Mormile. 2018.
Complete genome sequence of Salinisphaera sp. LB1, a moderately
halo-acidophilic bacterium isolated from Lake Brown, Western
Australia. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 7 (13) e01047-18. - Impact of Elevated CO2 Concentrations on Carbonate Mineral Precipitation Ability of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria and Implications for CO2 Sequestration. Paul, V.G., M.R. Mormile, and D.J. Wronkiewicz. 2017. Impact of
Elevated CO2 Concentrations on Carbonate Mineral Precipitation
Ability of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria and Implications for CO2
Sequestration. Applied Geochemistry, 78: 250-271. - A case for the protection of saline and hypersaline environments. Paul, V.G., and M.R. Mormile. 2017. A case for the protection of saline
and hypersaline environments. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 93(8).
Awards and recognition
Recognition
- (2017) Inaugural Wakesman Foundation Lecturer in Environmental Microbiology
- (2008) Missouri University of Science and Technology's Woman of the Year