Marvin Whiteley
Dr. Marvin Whiteley is an American microbiologist and academic known for his studies of bacterial cell-cell communication and biofilm formation. He is a Professor of Biological Sciences and holds the Bennie H. and Nelson D. Abell Chair in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Whiteley is also a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and co-director of the Emory-Children’s Cystic Fibrosis Center in Atlanta. His research is focused on how host-associated bacterial communities behave and cause disease, and his work in this area led him to co-found the biotechnology company SynthBiome to develop advanced infection model systems. Whiteley has received several honors for his contributions, including election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.
Career
Dr. Whiteley began his academic career in 2002 as an assistant professor of microbiology at the University of Oklahoma. In 2006, he joined the University of Texas at Austin, where he progressed from assistant to full professor by 2013 and served as the inaugural Director of the John Ring LaMontagne Center for Infectious Disease. At UT Austin, he also held prestigious endowed chairs and was recognized with the College of Natural Sciences Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award.
In 2017, Dr. Whiteley joined the Georgia Institute of Technology as the Bennie H. & Nelson D. Abell Chair in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. He continues his research as a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and serves as co-director of the Emory-Children’s Cystic Fibrosis Center (CF@LANTA). In 2025, he was appointed Editor-in-Chief of mBio, a leading journal in microbiology.
Dr. Whiteley has been deeply involved with the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), serving in multiple leadership roles including President of the Texas Branch, Division D Chair, and as a member of several ASM journal editorial boards.
Research Interests
Dr. Whiteley’s research focuses on bacterial social behavior, interspecies communication, and spatial organization in chronic infections. His lab discovered that Pseudomonas aeruginosa uses outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) to deliver quorum-sensing signals, revealing a novel mechanism for coordinating group behavior and OMV biogenesis. He has also uncovered key interactions in polymicrobial communities, such as how P. aeruginosa responds to Gram-positive bacteria and fungal toxins, demonstrating cross-species and cross-kingdom communication that shapes microbial virulence.
Dr. Whiteley’s work emphasizes the importance of spatial structure in infection, showing that micron-scale bacterial organization significantly impacts antibiotic tolerance and pathogenicity. His innovative tools, including microfabricated “bacterial lobster traps” and synthetic infection media like SCFM2, have advanced the modeling of in vivo-like infection environments. Through these approaches, his lab has identified novel infection-specific regulatory elements such as the small RNA SicX, deepening our understanding of bacterial adaptation in chronic disease contexts.
Notable Awards
OCAST Young Investigator award (2003)
Merck Irving S. Sigal Memorial Award (2008) – Awarded by the American Society for Microbiology for excellence in basic research in medical microbiology and infectious diseases.
Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease (2008) – Selected in a national program supporting promising young researchers in infectious disease pathogenesis.
Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow (2009) – Selected to the National Academy of Sciences’ Kavli Frontiers of Science symposium for outstanding young scientists.
Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award, University of Texas at Austin (2009) – Recognized for excellence in undergraduate teaching in the College of Natural Sciences.
Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (2014) – Honored by the American Society for Microbiology’s leadership group for significant contributions to the field.
Distinguished Alumnus, Texas State University (2016) – Awarded by his M.S. alma mater in recognition of his professional achievements.
Lundbeck Foundation visiting Professorship, University of Copenhagen (2016)
Faculty mentor award, Georgia Institute of Technology (2019)
Student Recognition of Teaching Excellence award, Georgia Institute of Technology (2023 and 2024)
Editor in Chief, mBio (2025)