Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) Active
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) is a newly renovated laboratory space operated by the USGS Michigan Water Science Center in Lansing, MI. The laboratory is staffed by two Ph.D. level microbiologists and five M.S. level microbiologists with a combined 70 years of experience in microbiology and water resources research. The USGS MI-BaRL provides a variety of modern analytical approaches to understand bacteriological contamination of water, and microbial ecology in diverse water environments.
In Michigan, the USGS has studied beach microbiology, the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in surface water, and the occurrence of microbial pathogens in surface water, groundwater, algae, sediment, and in drinking water supplies. Regionally and nationally, the USGS MI-BaRL has studied the relation of microbial pathogens to combined sewer overflows, land-use differences, and agricultural practices (animal feeding operations, manure management, tillage practices). Studies focus on understanding external environmental or anthropogenic influences related to the occurrence of pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Particular focus in the laboratory is applied to maintaining appropriate quality assurance and quality control procedures, documentation, and meta-data collection for advanced methods. The MI-BaRL uses modern pathogen occurrence and quantitation methods, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and quantitative PCR (qPCR), microbial source tracking (MST) techniques, and microbial community analysis methods in a variety of water resource applications.
To learn more about MI-BaRL, visit our laboratory website from the USGS Enviromental Health Mission Area.
Learn more about USGS Microbiology.
- Overview
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) is a newly renovated laboratory space operated by the USGS Michigan Water Science Center in Lansing, MI. The laboratory is staffed by two Ph.D. level microbiologists and five M.S. level microbiologists with a combined 70 years of experience in microbiology and water resources research. The USGS MI-BaRL provides a variety of modern analytical approaches to understand bacteriological contamination of water, and microbial ecology in diverse water environments.
In Michigan, the USGS has studied beach microbiology, the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in surface water, and the occurrence of microbial pathogens in surface water, groundwater, algae, sediment, and in drinking water supplies. Regionally and nationally, the USGS MI-BaRL has studied the relation of microbial pathogens to combined sewer overflows, land-use differences, and agricultural practices (animal feeding operations, manure management, tillage practices). Studies focus on understanding external environmental or anthropogenic influences related to the occurrence of pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Particular focus in the laboratory is applied to maintaining appropriate quality assurance and quality control procedures, documentation, and meta-data collection for advanced methods. The MI-BaRL uses modern pathogen occurrence and quantitation methods, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and quantitative PCR (qPCR), microbial source tracking (MST) techniques, and microbial community analysis methods in a variety of water resource applications.
To learn more about MI-BaRL, visit our laboratory website from the USGS Enviromental Health Mission Area.
Learn more about USGS Microbiology.