Andrew Putt ’16 Presents Research at National Conference

MANSFIELD, PA— Andrew Putt, who graduated from Mansfield University in December 2016, presented his research at the 2017 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Microbe meeting held in New Orleans, LA from June 1-5. Andrew Putt at the 2017 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Microbe Meeting.Putt, under the advisement of Professor of Biology Jeanne Kagle, presented his poster titled “Detection of the Putative Triclosan Oxygenase Gene tcsA in Wastewater Treatment Plants” on June 2 at this premier international microbiology conference.

Putt’s research utilized culture-based techniques and database searches to analyze the worldwide prevalence of genes previously identified by Kagle as involved in the degradation of the antimicrobial compound triclosan (TCS).

TCS is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial which has recently been banned in consumer applications in the United States due to potential environmental and human health hazards. TCS is still widely used in medical establishments, however, and released into wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).

The ASM is the largest single life science society, composed of over 48,000 scientists and health professionals. ASM’s mission is to promote and advance the microbial sciences.

Andrew Putt in the lab.Putt was able to perform this research due to being a 2016 recipient of the ASM Undergraduate Research Fellowship.   This fellowship is aimed at highly competitive students who wish to pursue graduate careers (Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D.) in microbiology.  Through this fellowship, he had the opportunity to conduct full time summer research at Mansfield University with his ASM mentor, Dr. Kagle.

As an ASM fellow, Putt received a summer stipend and funding for travel expenses, co-sponsored by the Departments of Biology and Geosciences and Office of the Dean, to the Microbe Academy for Professional Development and ASM Microbe Meeting.

This year, 85 applications for the ASM Undergraduate Research Fellowship were received and 42 were awarded.  Of the 42 awardees, 30 students are from research and doctoral granting universities and 12 students are from undergraduate and masters’ granting institutions.

Putt graduated from MU last December, earning a B.S. in Biology with a concentration in Environmental Biology and a B.S. in Geosciences with a concentration in Watershed Management.

Putt is currently working at a Pharmaceuticals and Organism Identification Laboratory in Lancaster, PA.  He will be moving to Knoxville, TN in August to begin his doctoral research in hydro-geomicrobiology at the University of Tennessee Earth and Planetary Science Department.

For more information on the ASM Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program, go to asm.org/urf and visit asm.org/index.php/asm-microbe-2017 for more information on the ASM Microbe 2017 meeting.

To learn more about the Department of Biology at Mansfield, go to mansfield.edu/biology for the Department of Geosciences, go to geoggeol.mansfield.edu