Jo Handelsman Elected to National Academy of Sciences

Congratulations Jo Handelsman! The National Academy of Sciences was founded in 1863 as a result of an Act of Congress that was approved by Abraham Lincoln, the NAS is charged with “providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology and provide scientific advice to the government ‘whenever called upon’ by any government department.”

Cap Times Q&A: Institute for Discovery Director Jo Handelsman Takes Scientific Collaboration to a New Level

“When I came we started thinking about how you generate interdisciplinary work. We took an experimental approach to figuring out whether there are deliberate things that we can do that will encourage truly broad collaborations across disciplines.”

Jo Handelsman

Jo Handelsman

WID Director

  • WID Faculty

Genetic and biochemical processes underlying interactions within plant and human microbiomes.

Handelsman Lab

Understanding diversity in microbial communities and their role in infectious disease; in particular, the genetic basis for stability of microbial communities, the role of a gut community as a source of opportunistic pathogens, and the soil microbial community as a source of new antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes.

2022 Publications

2022 publications from our faculty and fellows during their time at WID are listed below. Please see each publication for additional information. View Additional Publications:

L. lactis: The Unsung Hero of Wisconsin’s World-Famous Cheese

CaSP is bringing awareness a hardworking microbe Lactococcus lactis, which is the bacterium used to make cheese. Join policymakers, scientists, dairy, and industry leaders for a night showcasing Wisconsin’s overlooked hero and hear why Wisconsin should designate L. lactis as its official state microbe on October 24, at 5:00 PM at the Discovery Building. This event is free and open to the public.

Connecting Climate Change and the Soil-Loss Crisis

Climate Change Coalition of Door County is focusing on soil during its 10th-anniversary celebration, The World We Make and is excited to have Dr. Handelsman as the event’s guest and speaker on September 20th n Bailey’s Harbor, WI. She will talk about soil’s role as a powerful carbon reducer, sustainable farming policies and practices to reduce soil erosion.

Wisconsin Institute for Discovery Announces 2023 Cultivating Connections Expo

The Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID) is excited to announce the 2023 Cultivating Connections expo, to be held on April 12, 2023, from 2:00 – 5:30 pm at the Discovery Building. The expo will feature a panel discussion on the importance of diverse mentorship in STEM, a dance performance from …

Tiny Earth to develop AJEDI-focused open-access Scientific Teaching Course for college instructors

Tiny Earth will collaborate with Codon Learning and the National Institute on Scientific Teaching (NIST) to develop, evaluate, and disseminate a Scientific Teaching Course (STC) that integrates AJEDI (antiracist, just, equitable, diverse, inclusive) principles. The Course is designed as four modules and will be available via Codon Learning’s interactive digital platform beginning summer 2023. Modules will also be incorporated into Tiny Earth Partner Instructor (TEPI) training in summer 2023 and 2024.

2021 Publications

2021 publications from our faculty and fellows during their time at WID are listed below. Please see each publication for additional information. View Additional Publications:

Achieving STEM diversity: Fix the classrooms

A perspective piece published on June 2 in Science from the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID) suggests that outdated classroom teaching methods discourage members of historically excluded communities (HECs) from graduating with a degree in science. Lead author, Jo Handelsman states “Outdated classroom teaching models are discriminatory, ultimately, we need to stop trying to fix the students and instead focus on our classrooms.”

Meet the new Writer-in-Residence: Kayla Cohen

What do mystery, mayhem, and the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery have in common? The Writer-in-Residence Program, recently welcomed Kayla Cohen as a part of the Illuminating Discovery Hub at the Wisconsin Institute of Discovery. The residency is an opportunity for an up-and-coming writer to work among scientists while crafting a manuscript with scientific themes.