Erica L-W Majumder

Erica L-W Majumder is an Assistant Professor of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on microbial metabolisms impacting environmental and human health, particularly anaerobic processes, microbe-plastic interactions, and bioremediation.

Education:

• B.A. with Honors in Chemistry, Drury University (2010)
• Ph.D. in Chemistry (Bioinorganic), Washington University in St. Louis (2015)
• Postdoctoral Research at University of Missouri-Columbia and The Scripps Research Institute

Research Themes:

• Plastics: Biodegradation of microplastics, bioconversion of waste to bioplastics
• Metals: Anaerobic microbial electron transfer for wastewater treatment and energy
• Non-Metal Metabolites: Sulfur/nitrogen metabolism in diseases like Lyme's and gut microbiome effects

Her lab develops systems biology tools like metabolomics and omics-guided biochemistry to study microbial responses to environmental perturbations.

Lab Personnel:

• Graduate Students: Robbie Mejia, Catherine Pettinger, Damayanti Rodriguez-Ramos, Rachel Rovinsky, Ethan Seng, Fuad Shatara, Ethan Yee
• Research Staff: Hans Nielsen-Fox (Research Tech), Ethan Seng (Research Intern)

Grants & Collaborations:

• O.N. Allen Soil Microbiology Grant (2021)
• GLRC Small Grant with SUNY-Oneonta and Clarkson University
• UW-Madison Land Acknowledgement and DEI initiatives

Lab Activities:

• Hosts the Majumder Lab at the Microbial Sciences Building
• Focuses on cross-cutting themes using genetic tools, mass spectrometry, and data analysis pipelines