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Michelle Hulin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant, Soil Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University. Her research focuses on bacterial evolution and understanding how new pathogenic lineages emerge in plants, with a goal to determine the factors that influence disease emergence. Specifically, she studies the role of mobile genetic elements (MGEs), plasmids, and prophages in bacterial evolution, recognizing their distinct evolutionary pathways and their relevance to pathogenicity. Moreover, her recent research has uncovered a variety of immune mechanisms that bacteria employ to limit the movement of MGEs. Her work emphasizes the critical factors influencing the evolution of potential pathogens and subsequent disease emergence, particularly in non-model organisms. Hulin's research program integrates field ecology, including sampling and genome sequencing of bacterial populations, with fundamental lab-based studies on mobile elements and their interactions with bacterial hosts. She uses advanced technologies such as single-cell techniques and metagenomics for lineage tracking, aiming to enhance the understanding of pathogen evolution, facilitate diagnostics, and inform management strategies to mitigate crop losses.
Department of Psychology