BUFFALO, N.Y. — University at Buffalo biology researcher Gerald Koudelka has been elected by the American Academy of Microbiology into its 2021 Fellowship Class.

Academy fellows are distinguished leaders in the field of microbiology. There are over 2,500 Fellows in the organization who represent various subspecialties of the microbial sciences. 

Koudelka, PhD, is a professor of biological sciences and senior associate dean for research and sponsored programs in the UB College of Arts and Sciences, and a past recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He received his PhD from UB and completed his postdoctoral research at Harvard University. His research interests include DNA-protein interaction, DNA structure and bacterial pathogenesis. 

Koudelka’s scholarship has focused on central themes including mechanisms of DNA sequence recognition and the evolution of bacteriophage-encoded exotoxins. 

His work on the latter topic has included exploring the hypothesis that exotoxins are part of an antipredator defense mechanism. This research has encompassed determining how biochemical, cell biological and population-based factors impact the persistence of an evolutionarily diverse set of Shiga toxin-encoding bacteria and phage. 

Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology, an honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology, are elected annually through a highly selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology. 

Koudelka was one of 65 individuals elected to the American Academy of Microbiology 2021 Fellowship Class.