Sue Ishaq

Sue Ishaq is an Associate Professor at the University of Maine, affiliated with the School of Food and Agriculture under the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture. She balances 50% teaching and 50% research, focusing on host-microbe-environment interactions across animals and humans.

• Ph.D. in Nutrition and Food Science (2015), University of Vermont

Her research examines microbial community dynamics in Inflammatory Bowel Disease recovery, marine animal microbiomes, and the social determinants of microbial exposure. This work bridges agricultural microbiology, nutritional immunology, and environmental health.

Key trends in her publications include anti-inflammatory dietary compounds, marine animal microbial ecology, and microbial biogeography across health conditions. Her Microbes and Social Equity (MSE) Working Group integrates these themes into policy discussions.

Ishaq serves as Early Career At-Large Board Member (2024–2027) for the American Society for Microbiology and Editor (2021–2027) for mSystems. She teaches courses like Introduction to Animal Microbiomes and DNA Sequencing Data Analysis Lab.

Contact: sue.ishaq@maine.edu | Lab Website