Steve Diggle Elected to American Academy of Microbiology Fellows

Steve Diggle, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and director of Georgia Tech’s Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection (CMDI), is one of 65 new 2023 Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM).

The AAM is an honorific leadership group and think tank within the American Society of Microbiology (ASM). Fellows are elected annually through a highly selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology. The Academy received 148 nominations this year. 

“On behalf of the School of Biological Sciences, I am thrilled to hear about Steve’s election to the American Academy of Microbiology,” said Todd Streelman, professor and chair of the School of Biological Sciences. “This is a tremendous feather in our cap and further illustrates the success of the Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection, its faculty and students, on our campus.”

Arturo Casadevall, Chair of the Governors of the American Academy of Microbiology, notified Diggle of his election. The Academy “recognizes excellence, originality, service and leadership in the microbial sciences,” Casadevall wrote. “As a nominee, you were strongly supported by your nominators … Your election to the Academy this year is a mark of distinction.”

“I am delighted to be elected,” Diggle said. “It is an honor to be chosen by your peers to be part of this fellowship and to recognize the work my group has done over the years. The award would not have been possible without all the hard work and talents of many undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs and collaborators since I started my own group back in 2006. Thank you to all.”

More than 2,600 Academy Fellows represent all subspecialties of the microbial sciences. They are involved in basic and applied research, teaching, public health, industry, and government service.

Diggle’s research interests focus on cooperation and communication in microbes, and how these are related to virulence, biofilms, and antimicrobial resistance. He has a longstanding interest in understanding how the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes disease, and is especially interested in how this organism evolves during chronic infections such as those found in cystic fibrosis patients and chronic wounds.

Diggle currently serves as a senior editor on the editorial board of the journal Microbiology. He has previously served on the editorial boards of FEMS Microbiology Letters, BMC Microbiology, Microbiology Open, and Royal Society Open Science. He served as an elected member of the Microbiology Society Council from 2012-2016, and was also on their conference and policy committees.

In 2020, Diggle received the Cullen-Peck Scholar Award, which recognizes research accomplishments led by Georgia Tech College of Sciences faculty at the associate professor or advanced assistant professor level. Diggle was selected as an American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer in 2021.  

About Georgia Tech

The Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is one of the top public research universities in the U.S., developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition.

The Institute offers business, computing, design, engineering, liberal arts, and sciences degrees. Its more than 46,000 students, representing 50 states and more than 150 countries, study at the main campus in Atlanta, at campuses in France and China, and through distance and online learning.

As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast, and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry, and society.