Rate My Professor Andrew Herbig

Andrew Herbig is an Associate Professor of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Washburn University, with a specialty in microbiology. He holds a B.S. from Truman State University (1995) and a Ph.D. from Cornell University (2001), where his doctoral research contributed to understanding metal ion uptake and oxidative stress in bacteria. After completing his doctorate, Herbig was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Missouri from 2001 to 2004. He then served as Assistant Professor of Biology at Central Methodist University from 2004 to 2007, before joining Washburn University as Assistant Professor of Biology in 2007, advancing to his current associate professor rank.

Herbig's scholarly interests center on bacterial stress responses, including the biology of magnesium transport in Bacillus subtilis. Key publications include co-authorship on "Regulation of the Bacillus subtilis fur and perR Genes by PerR: Not Only PerR Is Responsible for Metal Ion-Dependent Expression" (Journal of Bacteriology, 2002) and "Complete genome sequence of Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage Adastra" (Microbiology Resource Announcements, 2024). He actively mentors undergraduate research, with students presenting findings at Washburn's Apeiron symposium on bacteriophages and magnesium-related topics. In teaching, he offers courses such as BI 100 Human Biology, BI 192 General Cellular Biology, BI 301 General Microbiology, and BI 395 Research in Biology. Herbig has received the Award for Excellence in Teaching Science, selected by graduating seniors, in 2017 and again recently. He advises the Pi Gamma Chapter of Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society, serves on the Faculty Development Committee, Library Committee, and Honors Advisory Board, and contributes to Faculty Senate activities.