Larner College of Medicine

Matthew "Matt" J. Wargo

Professor, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

Director, Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Sciences Program

PRONOUNS he/him

mwargo@uvm.edu
person smiling
mwargo@uvm.edu

Stafford 308B
Burlington, VT 05405
United States
Pronouns he/him
Alma mater(s)
  • Ph.D., Biology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
  • M.S., Botany, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
  • B.S., Biology, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA
  • Postdoctoral Associate, Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College
  • Fellowship, Pulmonary and Critical Care, Larner College of Medicine
Affiliated Department(s)

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

Secondary Appointment in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Areas of expertise

bacterial genetics, bacterial metabolism, bacterial molecular pathogenesis, genetics, lung biology.

BIO

Matt Wargo is a Professor in the Microbiology & Molecular Genetics Department in the Larner College of Medicine. His work focuses on the opportunistic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and how it lives in the pre-infection niche - the drinking water system - and how it transitions from that environment to cause infection in the lungs. His teaching portfolio includes a focus on bacterial genetics and data analysis for undergraduates, graduate students, and medical students.

Courses

  • Attacks & Defenses (Med) 
  • Bacterial Genetics (MMG undergraduate) 
  • CMB Core I & II (CMB grad)

Publications

Google Scholar Publications

Bio

Matt Wargo is a Professor in the Microbiology & Molecular Genetics Department in the Larner College of Medicine. His work focuses on the opportunistic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and how it lives in the pre-infection niche - the drinking water system - and how it transitions from that environment to cause infection in the lungs. His teaching portfolio includes a focus on bacterial genetics and data analysis for undergraduates, graduate students, and medical students.

Courses

  • Attacks & Defenses (Med) 
  • Bacterial Genetics (MMG undergraduate) 
  • CMB Core I & II (CMB grad)

Publications

Google Scholar Publications

Select Publications

  1. DiGianivittorio, P., Hinkel, L.A., Mackinder, J., Schutz, K., Klein, E.A. and Wargo, M.J. 2024. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa sphBC genes are important for growth in the presence of sphingosine by promoting sphingosine metabolism. Microbiology 171:001520. PMCID: PMC11893366 
  2. Mackinder, J.R., Hinkel, L.A., Schutz, K., Eckstrom, K., Fisher, K., and Wargo, M.J. 2024. Sphingosine induction of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa hemolytic phospholipase C/sphingomyelinase, PlcH. JBac 206(3): e0038223. PMCID: PMC10955842 
  3. Thompson, A.F., English, E.L., Nock, A.M., Willsey, G.G., Eckstrom, K., Cairns, B.M., Bavelock, M., Tighe, S.W., Foote, A., Shulman, H., Pericleous, A., Gupta, S., Kadouri, D., and Wargo, M.J. 2020. Characterizing species interactions that contribute to biofilm formation in a multispecies model of a potable water bacterial community. Microbiology 166(1):34-43 PMCID: PMC7137775 
  4. English, E.L., Schutz, K.C., Willsey, G.G., and Wargo, M.J. 2018. Transcriptional responses of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to potable water and freshwater. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 84(6):e02350-17 PMCID: PMC5835727 
  5. LaBauve, A.E. and Wargo, M.J. 2014. Detection of host-derived sphingosine by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is important for survival in the murine lung. PLoS Pathogens 10(1): e1003889. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1003889. PMCID: PMC3900636

What we do in the Lab

Research Specialty

Microbial Geneticists who study Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative opportunistic bacterial pathogen that commonly resides in tap water
Matt Wargo Lab team picture

Lab Team

Kristin Schutz - Lab Manager
Olivia Evans - CMB PhD student
Laura O'Brien - Undergraduate researcher
Emma Danza