Anne Arnold Madden is an American biologist, inventor, and science communicator who advocates for finding "microbial solutions to human problems."
Madden’s research on microscopic life is often featured in the press, particularly her studies on the microbial community of food, using advanced DNA techniques to create the first atlas of arthropods in USA homes, investigating the microscopic life in dust, and using insect yeasts for ethanol production and beer brewing.
Her research on insect-associated microorganisms lead to a patent application on the use of the yeast Lachancea thermotolerans for beer brewing and the first commercialization of primary souring yeasts for making sour beer. She first isolated the yeast from wasps and bumblebees. This technology formed the basis of the biotechnology company Lachancea LLC.
Madden discovered and named the species Mucor nidicola, a fungus that lives inside the nests of wasps. Madden presented at the TED2017 conference in Vancouver, BC. She has also presented at other TED events such as TEDxCharlotte and TEDxGateway. She was featured in the award-winning science documentary film "The Kingdom: How Fungi Made Our World."
She is the founder of The Microbe Institute, an interdisciplinary resource for microbial discovery with a focus on education, art and discovery. The Microbe Institute also features a fellowship program that supports individuals in pursuing short (typically < 6 month) interdisciplinary projects related to microbes.
She has some of the most famous hair in science, as the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists—a group associated with the Ig Nobel Award—named her woman of the year in 2015.
Selected publications
- The Microscopic Alchemist. PrimerStories.
- The ecology of insect-yeast relationships and its relevance to human industry. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. (2018) 285(1875)
- The diversity of arthropods in homes across the United States as determined by environmental DNA analyses. Molecular Ecology (2016). 25(24): 6214-6224. doi: 10.1111/mec.13900
- The emerging contribution of social wasps to grape rot disease ecology. PeerJ. (2017) 5:e3223; DOI 10.7717/peerj.3223
- Microbes should be central to ecological education and outreach. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education.
- Actinomycetes with antimicrobial activity isolated from paper wasp nests. Environmental Entomology. (2013) 42(2): 703-710.
- Mucor nidicola sp. nov., a novel fungal species isolated from an invasive paper wasp nest. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.(2012) 62(7): 1710-1714. (*Cover)
- First detailed report of brood parasitoidism in the invasive population of the paper wasp Polistes dominulus (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) in North America. (2010) Insectes Sociaux. 57(3): 257-260.
- Sex-related differences in alkaloid chemical defenses of the dendrobatid frog Oophaga pumilio from Cayo Nancy, Bocas del Toro, Panama. (2009) Journal of Natural Products. 73(3): 317-321.
- Neocitreamicins I and II, novel antibiotics with activity against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci. (2008) Journal of Antibiotics. 61(7):457-463. (*Cover)
References
- Madden, Anne (11 August 2017), Meet the microscopic life in your home -- and on your face, retrieved 2019-01-19
- "Secrets of Sourdough". Gastropod. 2017-12-18. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- "Sourdough Hands: How Bakers And Bread Are A Microbial Match". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- "DNA in dust reveals truth about bugs lurking in our homes". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- "The first nationwide map of the many insects that live in our houses". Newsweek. 22 November 2016.
- "Scientists just completed a census of the creepy crawlies that live in our homes". Washington Post.
- "What's hiding in my dust?". BBC News. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- Mickle, Tripp (9 October 2015). "Tough Day? How About a Frosty Schooner of Pizza or Pond Scum?". Wall Street Journal.
- "Your next happy hour buzz, brought to you by bees". PBS NewsHour. 16 June 2017.
- "The Beers and the Bees: Pollinators Provide a Different Kind of Brewer's Yeast". Scientific American.
- Mickle, Tripp (2015-10-09). "Tough Day? How About a Frosty Schooner of Pizza or Pond Scum?". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- "Walk on the Wild Side With Beer Made From Wasp Yeast". National Geographic. 2015-09-29. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- Biba, Erin (2018-06-29). "A Cocktail of Bugs and Yeast Could Make the Ultimate Biofuel". Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- "TEDx Gateway 2018: Microorganisms are source of our solutions, not problems, says microbiologist Dr Anne Madden". Free Press Journal. 3 February 2018.
- Rimler, Rose (11 August 2015). "Yeast from bees makes nice beer". Waterloo Region Record.
- "The secret lives of wasps". The Tufts Daily. 27 November 2011.
- Madden, Anne (11 August 2017), Meet the microscopic life in your home -- and on your face, retrieved 2018-09-14
- TEDx Talks, Your new favorite flavor is going to come from yeast in insects | Anne Madden | TEDxCharlotte, retrieved 2019-01-19
- "Dr. Anne Madden". TEDxGateway Independently Organized TED Event. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- Smith&Nasht (2018-02-08), Watch THE KINGDOM - How Fungi Made Our World Online | Vimeo On Demand, retrieved 2019-01-19
- "Improbable Research". Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- "Improbable Research » Blog Archive". 13 January 2015. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
External links
- Anne Madden publications indexed by Google Scholar
- Anne Madden is founder of The Microbe Institute