معرفی
Dr. Aaron Best is the Harrison C. and Mary L. Visscher Professor of Genetics at Hope College's Biology Department. He leads research in microbial genomics and evolution, focusing on transcription in Giardia lamblia, metabolic modeling, and microbial ecology in the Macatawa Watershed. His work integrates biochemical studies, genomics, and computational methods, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration. He has received awards such as the 2017 Watershed Stakeholder of the Year Award and the Towsley Research Scholar distinction.
Education: PhD in microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2001), postdoctoral training with Carl R. Woese. His research bridges lab-based studies and field investigations, supported by grants totaling over $2.5 million from NSF, DOE, and private foundations.
Research interests include genome-scale metabolic modeling, microbial evolution, and environmental microbiology. He has pioneered tools like ModelSEED for metabolic pathway analysis and contributed to the KBase knowledgebase. His work addresses global challenges like water contamination and antimicrobial resistance through collaborations with institutions like Sanford Burnham and Argonne National Lab.
Teaching emphasizes hands-on research with undergraduates, including course-based projects and mentoring in his lab. He has integrated research into classrooms, fostering student engagement in bioinformatics and microbiology.
Key grants include NSF awards for metabolic modeling (MCB-1716285, $488,522) and genomic mosaicism studies (MCB-1616737, $775,316). He also leads global surveys of water quality and microbial populations, funded by Sawyer Products and the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation.
Labs/Teams: Active in Hope College's water research initiatives and the Macatawa Watershed Project. Collaborates with teams at KBase and the Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute on interdisciplinary projects.
