Sean M. Gibbons - University of Chicago

Sean M. Gibbons
The University of Chicago
5474 S. Ellis Ave.
HGS 333
Chicago, IL 60637
(406) 552-5677 (mobile)
http://biophysics.uchicago.edu
sgibbons@uchicago.edu
Education
The University of Chicago, 2016 (estimate)
l PhD candidate: biophysical sciences graduate program
l Advisers: Prof. Maureen L. Coleman & Prof. Jack A. Gilbert
Chicago, IL
Uppsala University, 2010
l Degree: MS microbiology
l Advisers: Prof. Peter Lindblad & Dr. Thorsten Heidorn
Uppsala, Sweden
l Thesis: Synthetic Biology for Renewable Energy: Engineering Hydrogen Production in
Cyanobacteria.
The University of Montana, 2008
Missoula, MT
l Degrees: BA cellular and molecular biology, BS microbiology, BA French language and
literature
l Minor: chemistry
l Graduated as a University Scholar with High Honors.
Current Positions
Argonne National Laboratory, 2011-Present
l Resident Associate, Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology
The University of Chicago, 2011-Present
l Graduate Student, Biophysical Sciences
Prior Positions
Chief Dull Knife College, 2010-2011
l Adjunct Faculty, Department of Biology: Taught molecular biology course; organized
collaborations with faculty members and students at the Flathead Biological Station, the
University of Montana, and Dull Knife College to establish a metagenomics research program;
planned a 3-year environmental metagenomic sampling scheme for the Tongue River on the
Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.
MPG Operations, 2010-2011
l Research Scientist, Molecular Ecology Laboratory: Investigated shifts in arbuscular
mycorrhizal fungal communities in native and invasive plant roots using next-generation
sequencing technology (454, Illumina); assessed how those shifts altered ecosystem function
Uppsala Univeristy, Department of Photochemistry and Molecular Science, 2009-2010

l Fulbright Graduate Fellow: Used synthetic biology techniques to engineer photobiological
hydrogen production in heterocystous cyanobacteria
The University of Montana, Environmental and Industrial Microbiology Laboratory, 2008-2009
l Laboratory Manager: Developed and coordinated research efforts in a lab of 8-12
undergraduate and graduate researchers, conducted independent research, guest-lectured for the
UM microbial physiology course, wrote manuscripts
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute Montana Integrated Learning Experience for Students, 2007-2008
l Peer Mentor, 2008: Advised undergraduate research fellows on their projects and presented
relevant scientific topics at weekly meetings
l Honors Research Fellow, 2007: Coordinated a multidisciplinary research group (chemistry,
biology and computational mathematics) that investigated a novel metabolic pathway for the
breakdown of carbamates by a microbial consortium
The University of Montana, Environmental and Industrial Microbiology Laboratory, 2005-2008
l Laboratory Technician/Research Assistant: Ran experiments and conducted independent
research projects for the NSF-funded Nyack Microbial Research Station, focusing on the
microbial ecology and the biogeochemistry of lotic ecosystems
The French Ministry of Education, 2004-2005
l English Teaching Assistant: Taught an English conversation course for seven months at Lycée
Ferdinand Buisson, in Voiron, France
Publications
l A.-S. Roy, S.M. Gibbons, H. Schunck, S. Owens, J.G. Caporaso, M. Sperling, J. Nissimov, S.
Romac, L. Bittner, U. Riebesell, J. LaRoche and J.A. Gilbert. Ocean acidification shows
negligible impacts on high-latitude bacterial community structure in coastal pelagic mesocosms.
(2013) Biogeochemistry, in press
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Ylva Lekberg, Tim Schnoor, Rasmus Kjøller, Sean M. Gibbons, Lars H. Hansen, Waleed Abu
Al-Soud, Søren Sørensen, and Søren Rosendahl. 454 sequencing reveals stochastic local
reassembly and high disturbance tolerance within arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities.
(2011) Journal of Ecology DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2011.01894.x
l Philip W. Ramsey, Sean M. Gibbons, Peter Rice, Daniel L. Mummey, Kevin P. Feris, Johnnie N.
Moore, Matthias C. Rillig, and James E. Gannon. Relative strengths of relationships between
plant, microbial, and environmental parameters in heavy-metal contaminated floodplain soil.
(2011) Pedobiologia doi:10.1016/j.pedobi.2011.07.008
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Sean M. Gibbons, Kevin Feris, Michele A. McGuirl, Sergio E. Morales, Anu Hynninen, Philip
W. Ramsey, and James E. Gannon. Use of microcalorimetry to determine the cost and benefit to
Pseudomonas putida strain KT2440 of harboring cadmium efflux genes. (2010) Applied and
Environmental Microbiology 77(1), 108-113.

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Sean M. Gibbons; Advisors: Dr. Thorsten Heidorn and Prof. Peter Lindblad. Synthetic Biology
for Renewable Energy: Engineering Hydrogen Production in Cyanobacteria. (2010) Master of
Science Thesis. Uppsala University, Sweden.
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Mark Gibbons (author); Sean Gibbons (translator); Claude Held (translator). Mauvaises Herbes.
(2009) Propos2éditions, Manosoque, France. (Poems translated from English into French)
l Kevin P. Feris, Philip W. Ramsey, Sean M. Gibbons, Chris Frazar, Matthias C. Rillig, Johnnie N.
Moore, James E. Gannon, William E. Holben. Hyporheic microbial community development is a
sensitive indicator of metal contamination. (2009) Environmental Science & Technology 43 (16),
6158-6163
Invited Publications
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Peter E. Larsen, Sean M. Gibbons, and Jack A. Gilbert. Modeling microbial community structure
and functional diversity across time and space. (2012) FEMS Microbiology Letters DOI:
10.1111/j.1574-6968.2012.02588.x
Presentations
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Gibbons, S.M., Caporaso, J.G., Knight, R., Gilbert, J.A. Microbial biogeography across the seven
seas. (2012) poster presentation, International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) Meeting.
Copenhagen, Denmark.
Gibbons, S.M., Lekberg, Y., Ramsey, P.W. Impacts of leafy spurge herbivory and disease on
interactions with soil microbial communities. (2011) poster presentation, Soil Ecology
Conference. Kelowna, Canada.
Gibbons, S.M., Kogan, C., Gannon, J.E., Bardsley, J. Identifying and characterizing a novel
metabolic pathway involving the mineralization of sodium dimethyldithiocarbamate by a sixmember
bacterial consortium. (2008) oral presentation, University of Montana Undergraduate
Research Conference. Missoula, MT
Gibbons, S.M., Gannon, J.E., and Lowell, J. The preservation and characterization of a
consortium of microbes capable of metabolizing the industrial biocide sodium
dimethyldithiocarbamate. (2007) poster presentation, University of Montana Undergraduate
Research Conference. Missoula, MT.
Invited Presentations
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Gibbons, S.M., Gilbert, J.A. The Earth Microbiome Project: Planetary-scale systems ecology.
(2013) invited lecture, Genome Science Symposium. Tokyo, Japan.
Gibbons, S.M. The Earth Microbiome Project: Planetary-scale systems ecology. IGSB Seminar,
Argonne National Laboratory, IL, USA.
Teaching

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Co-Instructor: Winter, 2013. Bioinformatics in Ecology Workshop, Institute for Soil Science
(Chinese Academy of Sciences), Nanjing, China.
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Teaching Assistant: Fall, 2012. Quantitative Insights into Microbial Ecology (QIIME) Workshop
at the 2012 Argonne Soil Metagenomics Conference, Argonne, IL.
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Teaching Assistant: Spring, 2012. ECEV4420 - Bioinformatics and microbial ecology, The
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
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Instructor: Fall, 2010 & Spring, 2011. Applied Molecular Ecology, Chief Dull Knife College,
Lame Deer, MT.
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Guest Lecturer: Fall, 2009. Microbial Physiology, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT.
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Instructor: 2004-2005. English Discussion Class, Ferdinand Buisson High School, Voiron,
France.
Awards
2012 EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship
2009-2010 Fulbright Graduate Fellowship for Study in Sweden
2008 Top University of Montana Graduating Senior (President’s Medals) in Microbiology and French
2008 Associated Students of the University of Montana Student Service Award for Distinguished Service
and Achievement
2008 HHMI MILES Peer Mentor
2007 HHMI MILES Honors Research Fellow
2007 Julius and Anna Wiegenstein Scholarship for Microbiology
2007 Jestrab-Chaffee Scholarship for Academic Excellence
2007 Top Life Science Poster Presentation at the UM Undergraduate Research Conference
2006 Davidson Honors College Undergraduate Research Award
2006 Adrian and Sally Walker Scholarship for Financial Need, Community Service, and Academics
2006 Leslie Sheridan Alumni Scholarship for Deserving Science Majors
2006 Federal National SMART Grant
2005 McGee, Rose Southworth Scholarship for Deserving Students Majoring in a Foreign Language
2005 Robert M. Burgess Memorial Scholarship for Promising Undergraduates Majoring in the Humanities
2005 Montana Baker Grant for Low-Income Montanans
2003 Bonhomme Scholarship for Academic Excellence
2002 Fox Foundation Scholarship for Promising High School Graduates
Grants
Amazon Web Services Education Grant ($1,000) to provide computational resources for ECEV4420
co-PI: Jack A. Gilbert

Offices Held
2012-Present, Member of the Biophysics Student Committee; 2006-2008 President of the UM Students for
Peace and Justice; 2006-2007 President of Le Cercle Francophone; 2007-2010 Board Member for the
Jeannette Rankin Peace Center; 2008-2009 Board Secretary for the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center;
References
Prof. Jack A. Gilbert
Argonne National Laboratory & The University of Chicago, Dept. of Ecology and Evolution
email: gilbertjack@anl.gov
phone: 630-252-7489
Prof. Maureen L. Coleman
The University of Chicago, Dept. of Geophysical Sciences
email: mlcoleman@uchicago.edu
phone: 773-702-8352
Dr. Philip Ramsey
MPG Operations
email: pramsey@mpgranch.com
phone: 406-546-0699
Prof. Peter Lindblad
Uppsala University, Dept. of Microbial Chemistry
email: peter.lindblad@fotomol.uu.se
phone: 018-471 2826