Achievement

Jesús Alvelo (ICE IGERT trainee, microbiology) is part of a team of researchers in the Leschine laboratory working to visualize and quantify biomass-decomposing bacteria in association with insoluble substrates. Bacteria that decompose plant biomass are central to technologies for production of biofuels and bioproducts, but measurements of bacterial cell growth are complicated due to the insolubility of the biomass substrate. To overcome this impediment, Jesús has devised a microscopic visualization method that enables quantification of bacterial cell growth and promises to facilitate research aimed at engineering cells for improved biomass conversion to fuels and other bioproducts. Through his work, Jesús has gained expertise in a broad range of imaging techniques and has subsequently assisted various projects by training other students and helping to obtain essential images using fluorescence microscopy, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy.