Jeffrey Barrick

Jeffrey E. Barrick

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Hannah Distinguished Professor
Department of Entomology

Degrees:
Ph.D. - Yale University, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (2006)
B.S. - California Institute of Technology, Chemistry (2001)

Bio

Dr. Jeffrey E. Barrick's undergraduate and graduate research focused on applied molecular evolution and bacterial genetics. He was a postdoctoral researcher with Richard Lenski and Charles Ofria at MSU studying bacterial genome evolution and artificial life from 2006 to 2011. Barrick was a professor of molecular biosciences at the University of Texas at Austin from 2011 to 2025. During this time, he led collaborative NSF, DARPA, ARO and USDA projects that developed methods for genetically engineering bacterial symbionts of insects. He is the recipient of an NIH Pathway to Independence Award and an NSF CAREER Award. He served on the Defense Science Study Group and is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. Barrick returned to MSU as a Hannah Professor and became a member of the Department of Entomology in 2025. He is also affiliated with the Department of Microbiology, Genetics & Immunology.

Concentrations

Microbial evolution
Synthetic biology / biotechnology
Honey bees and aphids
Microbiome engineering
Symbiont-mediated RNAi

Research

Research in the Barrick lab is at the interface of microbial evolution, ecology and biotechnology. Many insects have evolved consequential associations with microbial symbionts. These symbionts may live within insect cells, be inherited across generations and support insect survival. The Barrick lab is interested in how these microbes arose, how they interact within insect microbiomes and how they influence their hosts. The lab creates genetic tools for working with non-model bacteria associated with insects to study these processes and develop innovative approaches for protecting beneficial insects and controlling pests through symbiont engineering. One of the main systems they work on is the honey bee gut microbiome. The bacteria in this community are beneficial for the health of honey bees and can also be engineered to combat new threats to these vital pollinators. This research takes advantage of unique resources at the MSU Pollinator Performance Center. The Barrick lab also studies aphid endosymbionts and other microbe-insect systems, with potential applications including preventing pests from spreading plant diseases and damaging crops.

Learn more about the Barrick Lab at MSU.