About Me

Michael W. Henson, PhD

University of Chicago
Department of the Geophysical Sciences
5734 S. Ellis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
hensonmw at gmail dot com

Henson Google Scholar Page
Henson CV
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Born and raised in the Midwest, I came to the University of Chicago as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Coleman Lab from the Thrash lab at the University of Southern California. I graduated with my Ph.D. in May of 2019 from LSU where my dissertation used high-throughput cultivation to help facilitate the genomic and physiological characterization of previously uncultivated and important marine/freshwater microbial clades. Our cultivation campaign resulted in the isolation of 13 novel genera and species, as well as numerous cultivars that have never before been isolated using artificial media. One of the most important cultivars obtained by these efforts, SAR11 LD12 (Freshwater SAR11), was studied to determine the genomic and physiological traits associated with its distribution, as well as generate a hypothesis about the evolutionary transition between marine and freshwater habitats. I also helped lead research on how the biogeochemistry and stream order of the Mississippi River effected the surface water microbial community. Prior to my Ph.D., I received my Master’s Degree from Central Michigan University in Dr. Deric Learman’s lab. My MS thesis investigated the genomic, physiological, and chromate reduction variation among four Microbacterium isolates. While at the Learman lab, I also took part in projects on microbial ecology of Poyang Lake (Nanchang, China) and the Great Lakes and the Antarctic shelf.

Outside of the lab and office, I enjoy cooking, hiking, backpacking, scuba diving, and crossfit.