Rate My Professor Paul Kirchberger

Paul Kirchberger is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Oklahoma State University. A trained molecular and evolutionary biologist, his research centers on the processes, such as recombination, and vehicles, like mobile genetic elements, that drive evolution in the microbial world. He has recently established the Kirchberger Lab at Oklahoma State University, where he pursues these interests through studies of Microviridae-host interactions. Prior to this appointment, Kirchberger conducted postdoctoral research in the Howard Ochman Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. His educational background includes a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Biotechnology from the University of Alberta, Canada, in 2017 (Yann Boucher Lab), M.Sc. degrees in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (2012, Kristina Sefc Lab) and Molecular Microbiology (2011, Ellen Zechner Lab), and a B.Sc. in Molecular Biology (2009), all from Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Austria.

The Kirchberger Lab investigates ecological and evolutionary factors shaping bacteriophage genomes, employing laboratory work, bioinformatics, and in vitro genome synthesis to understand how genomic components influence viruses, their bacterial hosts, and associated microbiomes. The group focuses on single-stranded DNA phages of the Microviridae family, examining host interactions, inter-phage competition, and microvirus diversity in human and environmental microbiomes. Future research aims to engineer customized phages for applications in phage therapy and ecosystem engineering. Key publications include "Microviruses: A World Beyond phiX174" (Annual Review of Virology, 2023, with H. Ochman), reviewing the hidden diversity of microviruses unveiled by metagenomics, and "A novel mobile genetic element with virus-like characteristics" (2025, corresponding author), describing a unique marine metagenomic discovery. Kirchberger has presented his work at symposia, including the Evolution of Symbiosis, Insects and Microbes Symposium at the University of Texas at Austin (March 2025).