Researcher Spotlight: Michael Woodworth

What is your professional background?
I am a fourth-generation alumnus of Emory College (and thus a long-term beneficiary of the power of sugar water). I went to medical school at Dartmouth, completed an internal medicine residency at Duke, and a combined infectious disease fellowship at UCSF and Emory. During my fellowship years at Emory, I also earned an MSCR. I joined faculty in April 2019.

In what division do you work, and who is your mentor? 
I work in the Division of Infectious Diseases. My mentors are Drs. Colleen Kraft, Chris Larsen, and Kostas Konstantinidis at Georgia Tech. 

Briefly describe your research. Why is it important?
My research applies metagenomic approaches to better understand colonization with multi-drug resistant bacteria and improve translational development of microbiome therapeutics like fecal microbiota transplantation. We are excited about this work because of the potential to address serious threats of antimicrobial resistance without depending on antibiotics. I also have a long-standing interest in clinical epidemiology and have been fortunate to collaborate with the Georgia Emerging Infections Program on C. difficile and multi-drug resistant Gram negative projects.

What do you like most about Emory? 
I am frequently impressed by the collaborative ethic of our division and the prevalent understanding of what is needed for junior faculty to make advances towards career development goals. 

What is your favorite movie or TV show? 
I have a strong appreciation for Wes Anderson films, ‘Home Alone,’ ‘Seinfeld,’ and have lately enjoyed the ‘His Dark Materials’ series on HBO.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I enjoy hiking and baking wood-fired pizzas with my family any chance we get.

What is a fun fact about you? 
When traveling in India before medical school, I was recruited to be an extra in a Bollywood soap opera filmed in Mumbai. I haven’t been able to find the clips, which is probably for the best.