Stephanie Yarwood, a professor of environmental science and technology at the University of Maryland (UMD), recently sat down to discuss her role co-leading the UMD Center of Excellence in Microbiome Sciences.

Launched in February 2023 with startup funding from the University of Maryland Grand Challenges Grants program, the center joins faculty, postdoctoral scholars and graduate students across campus in pursuit of a deeper understanding of complex microbial communities, and how those microbiomes interact with each other and with our ecosystem.

Yarwood is one of the grant’s principal investigators, the other being Mihai Pop, a professor of computer science. In addition to Yarwood and Pop, the center currently has 14 other core members that hail from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences; the A. James Clark School of Engineering; and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Yarwood’s research is focused on soil and how the microorganisms in it help carry out crucial processes to life on Earth, like releasing nutrients for plants to grow, filtering water, and composing antibiotics. She also examines wetland restoration from the perspectives of mitigating climate change and improving sustainable agriculture. 

As someone who has been active in research related to the microbiome for 14 years since coming to UMD, Yarwood is pleased that the center provides a hub to build a consistent community of scientists across campus, collaborating on microbiome research and scholarship that was previously fractured among individual departments and labs.

Since measuring microbiome function requires expensive lab equipment, sharing infrastructure is a key part of that community building, says Yarwood. Now that equipment can be better shared among researchers in the center, plans are in the works to expand its capacity to help accommodate postdocs and early career scientists who might not be able to afford the lab equipment they need right off the bat.

“If there’s a piece of equipment that you just would like to try and see if it applies to your work, this is part of why we’re here, in order to share that equipment, knowledge and expertise,” she says.

Another one of the center’s strengths, says Yarwood, is supporting student researchers in a more purposeful way than just financially. For example, through its fellowship program, graduate students receive not only an $8,000 stipend, but also participate in hands-on workshops designed to train them to conduct research and communicate across interdisciplinary divides.

Since the center’s inception, faculty have curated a list of more than a dozen courses from across several departments that relate to the microbiome sciences, with discussions in the works to develop a certificate program at UMD.

Now that the community of microbiome researchers on campus is becoming more cohesive, the center is also looking to grow partnerships in the region, adds Yarwood. So far, the center has hosted two annual symposiums that have drawn more than 100 regional scientists.

Another goal on the horizon is to expand the center’s financial support.

“It’s been very generous that the University of Maryland has been able to support the center,” says Yarwood. “Now we have a desire to try to find sustainable funding going forward, potentially private donors to support our work to build the next generation of microbiome scientists.”

—Story by Maria Herd, UMIACS communications group