Dr. Shor leads the Engineered Microhabitats research group.

OVERVIEW.
Microbes that are important in nature, in medicine, and in industry generally live in complex communities and inhabit intricate, micro-structured habitats. The theme of the Engineered Microhabitats research group is to systematically understand the actions and interactions of microbial communities functioning in complex micro-habitats. This work has direct applications to sustainable food, fiber, and biofuel production; environmental remediation and restoration; and medicine.

SEPARATION and ELIMINATION of MICROPLASTICS.
More than 50% of microplastics present in northeastern surface waters originate from treated wastewater effluent. Wastewater treatment plants were never designed to remove small, buoyant plastic particles, such as fibers from synthetic clothing that reach the wastewater stream from household washing machines. This project aims to develop sustainable, scalable, bio-inspired technologies to separate and eliminate microplastics from wastewater using mussels to filter fibers out of wastewater and microbes to biodegrade plastic particles. Project Website: https://efri.engr.uconn.edu/.

GREENER AGRICULTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY.
Project 1: Microbial processes may help regulate the rate and extent of water loss from soils. In collaboration with others, we are developing advanced optical technologies to understand the structure and function of soil ecosystems and in particular the role of microbial extracellular polymeric substances to promote resiliency in terrestrial ecosystems.
Project 2: Health and productivity of agricultural crops is dependent on the presence of symbiotic microorganisms to fix nitrogen or protect plant roots from pathogens. The Shor Lab has developed new technology to employ soil protists to transport and target the delivery of beneficial bacteria as well as granular agrochemicals. The technology functions to improve crop yields while reducing the usage of costly and potentially environmentally damaging chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Previous Positions

Awards & Honors

Recent Papers

Guo, YW, KK Weitz, A Truong, AG Ryan, LM Shor, A Bhattacharjee, MS Lipton. 2024. “Accessing Fungal Contributions to the Birch Effect: Real-Time Respiration from Pore-Scale Microfluidics.” Microorganisms12(11), 2295. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/12/11/2295

Micciulla, JL, LM Shor, DJ Gage. 2024 “Enhanced transport of bacteria along root systems by protists can impact plant health.” Applied & Environmental Microbiology, 90:4, e02011-23. https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.02011-23

Hawxhurst, CJ, J Micciulla, CM Bridges, M Shor, DJ Gage, LM Shor. 2023. “Soil protists can actively redistribute beneficial bacteria along Medicago truncatula roots.” Applied & Environmental Microbiology, 89:3, e01819-22. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01819-22