MMG Advisors

Rebecca Guy, MLS (ASCP), PhD

Rebecca Guy, PhD Head Shot Having a background in both microbiology and molecular genetics, I support and advise all MMG majors. I have research experience in both Salmonella pathogenesis and gene regulation in atherosclerosis. Additionally, I worked for nearly ten years as a clinical microbiologist. I also have a special interest in advising students interested in studying food systems here within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).

There are so many opportunities to explore within MMG, CALS, and UVM as a whole! Your undergraduate years are the best time to try new things and discover your interests and passions. As an advisor, I can provide avenues to many new ideas and experiences. It’s a privilege to work with so many diverse, interesting and unique people.

I am always availabile to new students. MMG advisors frequently meet with students who are not their own advisees. If a faculty member has experience or expertise in a specific area, students are encouraged to meet with multiple advisors.

Everyone’s path is different - take advantage of everything UVM has to offer.

Karin Hodge, MA

Karin Hodge, MA Head Shot I advise students who major or minor in microbiology or molecular genetics. I have worked with a lot of students interested in going into the medical field—nurses, medical laboratory scientists, and aspiring physical therapists, physician’s assistants, and MDs. I spent the last five years advising first year students; each year I seem to relive the excitement and terror of that first week on campus. I was the first in my family to go to college, so I also enjoy working with first generation students, as well as international students.

I love getting to know students, hearing about their families and hometowns, as well as their goals. One of my favorite parts of advising is talking with students to help them see themselves or a situation a little differently. We often come to college with a set of perceptions. One of the greatest things about an academic environment is that those perceptions get challenged. To help students realize that they can survive those mini identity crises and learn from them, too, is really powerful.

I think we make bad decisions when we are poorly resourced. The currency that advisors offer is information and experience. Advisors simply advise. As young adults, you can choose to do whatever you want to with that advice. Ultimately, the decisions you make are your own. But, talking with an advisor ensures that you have accurate and timely information with which to make your decision.

Janet Murray, PhD

Janet Murray, PhD Head Shot

I advise both microbiology and molecular genetics students. I advise students interested in medicine or graduate school and feel I have good insight into both these paths. I advise many students who transfer into our majors. I am the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Honors College (HCOL) director and I am assigned incoming MMG HCOL students.

I enjoy connecting with students and seeing them develop diverse interests over their undergraduate education. It is rewarding to see how individual students pursue their studies to create unique educational experiences depending on their career interests or passions.

There are many learning resources at UVM. Take advantage of these resources, you pay for them! In addition, the key to success is time management and developing good study skills.

Get to know your advisor and your professors. They want to help you.

Greg Gilmartin, PhD

Gregory Gilmartin, PhD Head Shot

I joined the MMG faculty in 1990, focusing on basic research on the regulation of eukaryotic gene expression. My primary focus was on the mechanisms of mRNA processing in HIV-1. Teaching and advising have been my ‘second career’ at UVM. I now teach a rather wide range of upper level courses, including Eukaryotic Virology, Advanced Studies in Emerging Infectious Disease, Environmental Microbiology, and Bioterrorism. I will encounter most biological science students in BCOR103, Molecular and Cell Biology, which I co-teach with a faculty member from the Biology Department. As an advisor, I mentor students in MMG, Biological Science and Biochemistry.

Having gone through the process of mentoring my three children through college and graduate school, I’ve gained a bit of insight into the trials and tribulations of the undergraduate student experience. My daughter will graduate this spring with a dual MD/PhD degree, so I can also provide a bit of counsel to those students who are thinking about medical school or are considering a PhD. For those students interested in a career outside of academics, I can highly recommend the new Health Professions Interest Group at the UVM Career Center – they have some really terrific people over there!

Our Previous Advisees Say...

"I have been so unbelievably lucky with the teachers and advisors that work in the MMG department. They are responsive, caring, and always in your corner. They want to help; whether that be with a particular problem set, or exam, or even life outside the classroom. They are a compassionate group of people who want to see you succeed."

-Isabel (Molecular Genetics '19)

"The advising is great, and with your advisors also being your professors in many cases, they go out of their way to push you to succeed."

-Dan (Microbiology '19)

"The MMG department has fantastic advising. My advisor was helpful, approachable, knowledgeable, and always willing to make time for me. In addition, I also felt like I didn’t have to rely only on my academic advisor; most of the MMG faculty were willing to support and guide me in academics, career choices, or anything else."