Dr. Zylstra's research involves laboratory and field explorations of the genetic basis for the microbial degradation of organic compounds.


News and Events

December 2 to 5, 2009: Gerben Zylstra is giving a presentation entitled "Unusual Genetic and Physiological Aspects of Microbial Phthalate Degradation" at the 6th Workshop of the Americas on Biotechnology and Bioenergy at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.

November 8 to 14, 2009: Annual undergraduate student exchange trip to participate in the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) undergraduate research symposium: SIICUSP - Simpósio Internacional de Iniciação Científica da USP.

August 19, 2009: Woo Jun Sul's Ph.D. defense: "Microbial community analysis assessed by pyrosequencing of rRNA gene: community comparisons, organism identification, and its enhancement."

May 24 to June 7, 2009: Elyse Rodgers-Vieira attends the Theoretical and Practical Course on Molecular Approaches for in situ Biodegradation at the University of Oklahoma.

May 17 to 21, 2009: American Society for Microbiology annual meeting in Philadelphia.

April 25, 2009: Ag Field Day on the Cook Campus of Rutgers University.

April 21, 2009: Virian Serei defends her George H. Cook undergraduate honors thesis "Novel Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases from the soil metagenome of Kyrgyzstan." (Cook Campus Center Room 202C at 1:30PM)

April 22 to 25, 2009: Gerben Zylstra and Lily Young host the annual trip of undergraduate students and faculty from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. They will participate in the Aresty Research Symposium and enjoy Ag Field Day on the Cook Campus. Rutgers undergraduate students who visited the University of Sao Paulo in November, 2008, will help serve as hosts.

April 20, 2009: Gerben Zylstra, Lily Young, and Max Haggblom host a group of microbiology students and faculty from Wageningen University (The Netherlands) for a full day research symposium.

March 20, 2009: Gerben Zylstra is giving a presentation entitled "Oxygenase Gene Biodiversity in the Environment" at the Frontiers in Environmental Microbiology: a Caribbean Perspective Symposium at the Universidad del Turabo (Gurabo, Puerto Rico).

March 19, 2009: Application Deadline: The United States - European Commission Task Force on Biotechnology Research is sponsoring a Theoretical and Practical Course on Molecular Approaches for in situ Biodegradation to be held at the University of Oklahoma from May 24th to June 7th, 2009. This course builds on the highly popular short course led by Zylstra, Kukor, and Young at Rutgers in 1998 and the successful short course held in Madrid in 2003. The course is only open to U.S. and E.U. citizens to foster transatlantic cooperation.

February 13, 2009: Zylstra signs third research agreement with Piccatiny Arsenal on explosive synthesis/degradation.

December 10, 2009: Hisako Masuda thesis defense "Identification and characterization of monooxygenase enzymes involved in 1,4-dioxane degradation in Pseudonocardia sp. strain ENV478, Mycobacterium sp. strain ENV421, and Nocardia sp. strain ENV425." (Foran 138A @ 10:00AM)