Roberto Kolter

Dr. Roberto Kolter, born and raised in Guatemala, has established himself as a distinguished figure in microbiology through his 35-year tenure at Harvard Medical School from 1983 to 2018. After earning his BS in Biology from Carnegie Mellon University and PhD from UC San Diego, he built an influential research program that trained over 130 scientists and produced more than 250 publications garnering over 80,000 citations. His laboratory made groundbreaking contributions to bacterial physiology, biofilm formation, and microbial interactions. As Co-director of Harvard's Microbial Sciences Initiative from 2003-2018, he bridged research and public engagement. Now as Professor Emeritus, he continues to shape the field through science communication, including co-authoring "Life at the Edge of Sight," creating the traveling exhibition "World in a Drop," and developing the Harvard Museum of Natural History's "Microbial Life" exhibition. He teaches at prestigious summer courses including the Microbial Diversity Course at Marine Biological Laboratory and is developing a HarvardX MOOC on fermentation and microbial foods. His leadership extends to serving as past president of the American Society for Microbiology and as a fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Microbiology.