Michelle O'Malley, Ph.D.

From biofuels and other commodity chemicals to methane production, genomic study peers into the mysteries of a goat’s gut

Michelle O’Malley has long been inspired by gut microbes. Since she began studying the herbivore digestive tract, the UC Santa Barbara chemical engineering professor has guided several students to their doctoral degrees, won early and mid-career awards (including a recognition from President Obama), attained tenure and advanced to the position of full professor. She even had three children along the way. A constant through it all: goat poop.

“This has been the longest single effort in my lab,” said O’Malley, who with her research team way back in 2015 first embarked on an ambitious project to characterize gut microbes in large herbivores. The purpose? To understand how these animals manage, via their microbiomes, to extract energy from plant material, particularly the fibrous, non-food parts, where sugars are locked behind tough plant cell walls. Understanding this process could reveal methods for extracting the raw materials necessary for a wide variety of the chemicals required for modern life — from biofuels to pharmaceuticals — all from abundant, renewable, plant parts. This, in turn, could decrease or even eliminate our reliance on more finite resources for these materials… Continue reading.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the induction of Michelle O’Malley, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, to its College of Fellows.

Election to the AIMBE College of Fellows is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to a medical and biological engineer. The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers. College membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering and medicine research, practice, or education” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education.”

Dr. O’Malley was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for “novel contributions to genetically engineer non-model microbes and anaerobic consortia for sustainable chemical production, remediation, and natural product discovery.“