Howard Ochman
Professor, Department of Molecular Biosciences
- howard.ochman@austin.utexas.edu
- Neural Molecular Science Building - NMS 4.110
We apply experimental, comparative and computational approaches to investigate the factors contributing to the evolution of bacterial genomes and microbial communities. Some of our current projects investigate:
The role of adaptive and non-adaptive processes in bacterial genome evolution
The causes and consequences of genome reduction in bacterial pathogens
The origins of new genes and functional complexity
The microbial community diversity residing in Great Ape hosts
Academic History
- Ph.D., University of Rochester 1984
- M.S., University of Rochester 1979
- B.A., Vassar College 1975
Professional History
- Professor, Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin 2021-
Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin 2013-2021
Professor, Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University 2010-2013
Professor, Depts. of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona 1998-2009 - Assistant Professor to Full Professor, Department of Biology, University of Rochester 1992-1998
- Research Assistant, Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine 1987-1991
- Postdoctoral, University of California, Berkeley 1984-1987
Awards and Honors
- University of Arizona Regents' Professor, elected 2008
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2006
- Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology, 2001
- National Institutes of Health, Research Career Development Award
- Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust, Center Award for New Faculty, Washington University
Current Research Support
- National Institutes of Health, 1R01GM101209-01 "Dynamics of the Microbes Infecting the Guts of Great Apes" (Howard Ochman, PI)
National Science Foundation, 1831730 "Ordering the microbial world into natural genetic, ecological, and functional units" (Howard Ochman, PI)
Scientific Activities
- Editorial Board, Genome Research, 2005-2007
- Editorial Board, Environmental Microbiology, 2005-2007
- Associate Editor, Journal of Molecular Evolution, 2005-2007
Dissertations Directed
- Md. Hassan uz-Zaman (Ph.D. 2024)
Alex H. Nishida (Ph.D. 2021)
Charles Traverse (Ph.D. 2018) - Andrew H. Moeller (Ph.D. 2015)
- M. Pilar Francino (Ph.D. 1999)
- Ulfar Bergthorsson (Ph.D. 1997)
Recent Publications (last three years)
Hart R., N. A. Moran, and H. Ochman (2025) Genomic divergence across the tree of life. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2025 Mar 11;122(10):e2319389122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2319389122. [Epub]
Uz-Zaman M. H., S. D'Alton, J. E. Barrick, and H. Ochman (2024). Promoter recruitment drives the emergence of proto-genes in a long-term evolution experiment with Escherichia coli. PLoS Biol. 22(5):e3002418. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002418
Ochman H., E. M. Quandt, N. Gottell, and J. A. Gilbert (2024) Examining the taxonomic distribution of tetracycline resistance in a wastewater plant. Sustain Microbiol. 1(1):qvad003. doi: 10.1093/sumbio/qvad003
Kirchberger P. C. and H. Ochman (2023) Microviruses: A World Beyond phi X174. Annu Rev Virol. 10(1):99-118. doi: 10.1146/annurev-virology-100120-011239.
Cobo-Simón M., R. Hart, and H. Ochman (2023) Gene flow and species boundaries of the genus Salmonella. mSystems. 8(4):e0029223. doi: 10.1128/msystems.00292-23
Cobo-Simón M., R. Hart, and H. Ochman (2023) Escherichia coli: What is and Which are?. Mol Biol Evol.40(1):msac273. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msac273.