Jeffrey Barrick

John A. Hannah Distinguished Professors College of Agriculture and Natural Resources College of Natural Science

• John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor

• Microbiology, Genetics, and Immunology

Bio

Dr. Jeffrey E. Barrick has made his official return to MSU as a Hannah Professor and became a member of the Department of Entomology in 2025. He is also affiliated with the Department of Microbiology, Genetics & Immunology. Prior to this most recent appointment at MSU, he previously conducted postdoctoral research with Richard Lenski and Charles Ofria, studying bacterial genome evolution and artificial life from 2006 to 2011.

Barrick was a professor of molecular biosciences at the University of Texas at Austin from 2011 to 2025. During this time, he led collaborative NSF, DARPA, ARO and USDA projects that developed methods for genetically engineering bacterial symbionts of insects. He is the recipient of an NIH Pathway to Independence Award and an NSF CAREER Award. He served on the Defense Science Study Group and is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.