Javier A. Izquierdo is an associate professor at Hofstra University, where he started his lab in 2014. Dr. Izquierdo received his BS in Biology at Case Western Reserve University. He earned his PhD in Microbiology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he studied soil microbial ecology, and where he developed a passion for teaching microbiology thanks to many wonderful mentors. He went on to Dartmouth College for his postdoctoral work on the microbial ecology of cellulose degradation by anaerobic thermophiles. He then served as Biofuels Program Manager at the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina, but his interests in teaching and mentoring research students brought him back to academia. His research group at Hofstra continues to work on understanding the ecology and physiology of cellulolytic microbes, as well as studying root-associated microbiomes of plants growing under stressful conditions. At Hofstra, he has taught courses in general microbiology, genomics and bioinformatics, and environmental microbiology. He enjoys going on long walks along the coast or the mountains with his wife and daughters. He is also a singer-songwriter and an avid photographer. He can be reached at javier.a.izquierdo@hofstra.edu.
