Jo Handelsman

About

Dr. Jo Handelsman is the Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Vilas Research Professor, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor. She received her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and has authored over 200 scientific research publications, 30 editorials, and 29 essays. Her research focuses on the genetic and biochemical processes underlying interactions within plant and human microbiomes, with groundbreaking studies in microbial communication and metagenomics. In addition to her scientific contributions, she is widely recognized for her efforts in science education and promoting diversity in science, having authored numerous articles on classroom methods and mentoring, and co-authored six books about teaching, including 'Entering Mentoring' and 'Scientific Teaching.' Dr. Handelsman previously served as a science advisor to President Barack Obama as the Associate Director for Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and has held faculty positions at the University of Wisconsin and Yale University. Her numerous honors include the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and election to the National Academy of Sciences.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Social Science
• Computer Science
• Biology
• Bioinformatics
• Microbiology
• Psychology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Public relations

Selected publications

• Chemically informed analyses of metabolomics mass spectrometry data with Qemistree

  Nature Chemical Biology · 2020 · 110 citations

  DOI

• Microbiome composition modulates secondary metabolism in a multispecies bacterial community

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2022 · 107 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  , suggesting that koreenceine represses siderophore production. Results from this model community show that bacterial BGC expression and chemical output depend on the identity and biosynthetic capacity of coculture partners, suggesting community composition and microbiome interactions may shape the regulation of secondary metabolism in nature.

  DOI

• Tiny Earth: A Big Idea for STEM Education and Antibiotic Discovery

  mBio · 2021 · 61 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The world faces two seemingly unrelated challenges-a shortfall in the STEM workforce and increasing antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens. We address these two challenges with Tiny Earth, an undergraduate research course that excites students about science and creates a pipeline for antibiotic discovery.

  DOI

• Public engagement: Faculty lived experiences and perspectives underscore barriers and a changing culture in academia

  PLoS ONE · 2022 · 35 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The idea of faculty engaging in meaningful dialogue with different publics instead of simply communicating their research to interested audiences has gradually morphed from a novel concept to a mainstay within most parts of the academy. Given the wide variety of public engagement modalities, it may be unsurprising that we still lack a comprehensive and granular understanding of factors that influence faculty willingness to engage with public audiences. Those nuances are not always captured by qu…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A triangulated approach for understanding scientists’ perceptions of public engagement with science

  Public Understanding of Science · 2022 · 24 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Scientists are expected to engage with the public, especially when society faces challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic or climate change, but what public engagement means to scientists is not clear. We use a triangulated, mixed-methods approach combining survey and focus group data to gain insight into how pre-tenure and tenured scientists personally conceptualize public engagement. Our findings indicate that scientists' understanding of public engagement is similarly complex and diverse as the…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01GM075830

  NIH · $845k · 2009

• NIH Grant R03AI042786

  NIH · $195k · 2002

• A New Wave of Scientific Teaching

  NSF · $200k · 2006–2008

Frequent coauthors

• Gabriel L. Lozano

  Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery

  106 shared

• Nichole A. Broderick

  Johns Hopkins University

  55 shared

• Amanda Hurley

  Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery

  47 shared

• Juan I. Bravo

  University of Southern California

  38 shared

• Marc G. Chevrette

  Florida Museum of Natural History

  35 shared

• Eric V. Stabb

  University of Illinois Chicago

  32 shared

• Robert M. Goodman

  29 shared

• Kenneth F. Raffa

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  29 shared

Labs

• Handelsman LabPI

Education

• Ph.D., Microbiology

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1986

• B.S., Microbiology

  University of California, Berkeley

  1981

Awards & honors

• Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, a…
• Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (201…
• Elected to the National Academy of Sciences (2023)

Similar researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Paul Ahlquisth-110
• Andrew Benth-60
• Caitilyn Allenh-49