Mike Son Headshot 2026

Mike Son

Professor
Phone: (603) 535-3199
Office: Boyd Hall, Room 202, Plymouth, NH 03264

Education

BSc, MSc, University of Calgary; PhD, University of Hawaii

Mike received his BSc (Microbiology) and MS (Biochemistry) from the University of Calgary. He then attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa where he earned his PhD investigating Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenesis during lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients. Mike recalls two highlights during his studies there: (1) meeting 4-time NFL Pro-Bowler Boomer Esiason, and (2) processing up to 40 ml of fresh sputum. In 2008, Mike graduated and started his post-doctoral position at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College under the guidance of Dr. Ronald K. Taylor. There, he turned his focus to another bodily fluid, investigating the pathogenesis of Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the human infectious disease cholera, which is also his main research focus at Plymouth State University. Alongside his research, Mike’s teaching has earned him recognitions with nominations and awards for teaching excellence since joining the faculty at Plymouth State University in 2012. He incorporates his research and curiosity for science with his teaching to educate his students with the most up-to-date information while taking lessons from past discoveries.

Research Interests
In the Cholera Research @ PSU (iC.R.A.P.) lab, the main research focus is on the pathogenesis of Vibrio cholerae, the Gram-negative bacterium that is the etiological agent for the intestinal disease cholera. The hallmark characteristic of cholera is severe watery diarrhea and vomiting, resulting in severe dehydration and eventually death of the infected individual. Our primary research goal is to identify and characterize the mechanism by which newly emerging variant strains of V. cholerae are demonstrating increased virulence, causing more severe cases of the disease at a much faster rate than previously observed. 
In addition to our cholera work, we have three other areas of interest. 

  1. Tick microbiome studies: this research focuses on the evolution of three species of ticks native to the New England area, including the black-legged tick responsible for transmitting the human pathogen responsible for Lyme disease.
  2. Deep surgical site infections: Deep surgical site infections (SSIs) continue to be a significant risk when performing tibial surgeries. Deep SSIs are complications that happen post-surgery in the orthopedic and traumatic fields, and they are believed to occur when bacteria are inoculated into the surgical site from the initial injury or during surgery. Although many bacterial infections can be mitigated (or prevented) with antibiotics, for deep surgical sites it is not as simple.
  3. Environmental health monitoring through microbiomes on Three Mile Island (NH): Microbiomes are often used as a marker to evaluate environmental changes and overall health and can also be used a predictor for potential negative impacts on humans (i.e. human infections and disease outbreaks). Due to the limited use of TMI (zoned usage and limited seasonal activities), we hypothesize that a cyclical fluctuation of the microbiome in relative species percentage will be observed.

Please contact me for more information or if you are interested in joining the iC.R.A.P. team.

Courses Taught

  1. Plagues and People (BIDI1400)
  2. Integrative Biology (BI2270)
  3. Microbiology for Nurses (BI2340)
  4. Microbiology for Majors (BI3040)
  5. Undergraduate Research (BI4950)
  6. Bioseminar (BI4960)
  7. Biology Colloquium (BI5100)
  8. Independent Study: Biology (BI5910)
  9. Thesis Research: Biology (BI5950)
  10. Molecular Biology (BI4188)

Grants

  1. NH EPSCoR E-RISE (2026-2029): Co-PI
    • EMBEDDEd-NH: Endeavor for Multi-omics-Based Exploration, Data-Driven Modeling, and Education in NH
  2. NH-INBRE SEED Grant (2024-2025): Principal Investigator
    • Development of novel recombination tools in non-model and environmental Vibrio spp.

  3. NH-INBRE Research Grant (2015-2018): Principal Investigator

    A sub-award from National Institutes of Health grants made possible by the IDeA Program, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (P20GM103506)

    • Identify the effects of clinically relevant SNPs in the regulatory genes hapR, hns, luxO, and vieA on virulence capabilities
    • Develop a genetic recombination tool and strategy to expand genetic manipulation into non-model clinical and environmental V. cholerae isolates
  4. PSU Research Advisory Council Grant (2015-2016): Principal Investigator
    • Investigating Vibrio species pathogenesis in marine crustaceans and shellfish using Vibrio cholerae and copepods as a model

  5. NH-INBRE Research Grant (2013-2015): Principal Investigator

    A sub-award from National Institutes of Health grants from the National Center for Research Resources (5P20RR030360-03) and National Institute of General Medical Sciences (8P20GM103506-03)

    • Characterization of increased virulence mechanisms in clinical Vibrio cholerae
    • Development of new recombinant vectors for allelic exchange in clinical and environmental isolates of Vibrio cholerae
  6. PSU Research Advisory Council Grant (2013-2014): Principal Investigator
    • Identification of genes involved in increased virulence observed in clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae

Selected Publications
*undergraduate and graduate student authors

  1. Tuttle, A.R.*§, Trahan, N.D.*§, and Son, M.S. 2021. Growth and maintenance of Escherichia coli laboratory strains. Current Protocols. 1, e20. doi: 10.1002/cpz1.20 §authors contributed equally; Top Downloaded Article, as it was one of the most downloaded during its first 12 months of publication among work published between January, 2021 – December, 2021
  2. Brumfield, K.D.*§, Carignan, B.M.*§, and Son, M.S. 2018. Laboratory culturing techniques and maintenance of Vibrio cholerae, p 1 – 10. In Sikora, A.E. (ed), Methods in Molecular Biology. Spring, New York, NY. §authors contributed equally
  3. Brumfield, K.D.*§, Carignan, B.M.*§, and Son, M.S. 2018. Genotypic and phenotypic assays to distinguish Vibrio cholerae biotypes, p 11 – 28. In Sikora, A.E. (ed), Methods in Molecular Biology. Spring, New York, NY. §authors contributed equally
  4. Brumfield, K.D.*§, Carignan, B.M.*§, Ray, J.N.*, Jumpre, P.E.*, and Son, M.S. 2017. Laboratory techniques used to maintain and differentiate biotypes of Vibrio cholerae clinical and environmental isolates. Journal of Visualized Experiments. (123), e55760, doi:10.3791/55760. §authors contributed equally
  5. Carignan, B.M.*§, Brumfield, K.D.*§, and Son, M.S. 2016. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in regulator-encoding genes have an additive effect on virulence gene expression in a Vibrio cholerae clinical isolate. mSphere 1(5):e00253-16. doi:10.1128/mSphere.00253-16. PMID27668288. PMCID5031793. §authors contributed equally
  6. Son, M.S. 2015. In the pursuit of STEM – Reaching learners as early as possible. A new summer science camp aimed at students in grades 1 through 3. New Hampshire Journal of Education.
  7. Sun, Z., Kang, Y., Norris, M.H., Troyer, R.M., Son, M.S., Schweizer, H.P., Dow, S.W., and Hoang, T.T. 2014. Blocking phosphatidylcholine utilization in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, via mutagenesis of fatty acid, glycerol and choline degradation pathways, confirms the importance of this nutrient source in vivo. PLoS One 9(7):e103778. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0103778. PMID25068317; PMCID4113454
  8. Son, M.S. and Taylor, R.K. 2012. Growth and maintenance of Escherichia coli. Current Protocols in Microbiology. 5A.4.1-5A.4.9. PMID23184597

Student Presentations in Past Five Years
*undergraduate student authors

  1. Son, I.H.*, Kowalsky, M.G.*, Treen, L.A.*, Gitajn, L.I., O'Toole, R.V., Schrank, G., and Son, M.S. Vancomycin and tobramycin efficacy against polymicrobial bone-break infections. 16th Annual NH-INBRE Meeting. Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods, NH. August 17 – 18, 2026.
  2. Kowalsky, M.G.* and Son, M.S. A novel recombination strategy to optimize genetic manipulation in Vibrio cholerae. 16th Annual NH-INBRE Meeting. Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods, NH. August 17 – 18, 2026.
  3. Kowalsky, M.G.*, Treen, L.A.*, and Son, M.S. Deciphering the role of virulence associated regulatory SNPs in Vibrio cholerae. 16th Annual NH-INBRE Meeting. Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods, NH. August 17 – 18, 2026.
  4. Rivera, T.*, Taishoff, D.*, Kowalsky, M.*, and Son, M.S. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Effects on the Virulence and Expression of Virulence Factors in Vibrio cholerae Clinical Isolate C6706. 15th Annual NH-INBRE Meeting. Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods, NH. August 18 – 19, 2025.
  5. Taishoff, D.*, Kowalsky, M.*, Rivera, T.*, and Son, M.S. Expanding the Capabilities of Genetic Manipulation Techniques in Clinical Vibrio cholerae Isolates Using a Hypothesized Recombination Approach. 15th Annual NH-INBRE Meeting. Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods, NH. August 18 – 19, 2025.
  6. Taishoff, D.*, Hanson, E.*, and Son, M.S. SNPs in the V. cholerae Regulatory Genes hapR, hns, and vieA Upregulated Virulence Gene Expression in the hapR-Positive Background Strain C6706. 14th Annual NH-INBRE Meeting. Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods, NH. August 5 – 6, 2024.
  7. Taishoff, D.*, Gillespie, A.*, Hanson, E.*, and Son, M.S. Regulatory single nucleotide polymorphism in hapR increases biofilm production in Vibrio cholerae HapR-functional strain C6706. 13th Annual NH-INBRE Meeting. Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods, NH. August 7 – 8, 2023.
  8. Pavlik, A.M.*, Taishoff, D.*, Gillespie, A.*, Hanson, E.*, and Son, M.S. Investigations into single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in regulatory genes of the human pathogen V. cholerae that may alter biofilm production and virulence expression. 2023 Student Showcase of Excellence. Plymouth, NH. April 5, 2023.
  9. Chandler, J.E.*, Clark, Z.B.*, Son, M.S., and Chabot, C.C. Does dsRNA affect Period in circadian rhythms of Limulus polyphemus, the American Horseshoe crab? 2023 Student Showcase of Excellence. Plymouth, NH. April 5, 2023.
  10. Pavlik, A.M.*, Townsend, K.M.*, Thompson, M.*, and Son, M.S. Specific combinations of SNPs in regulatory genes of Vibrio cholerae decrease biofilm production. 2022 Student Showcase of Excellence. Plymouth, NH. April 27, 2022.
  11. Moss, K.E., Thompson, M., Fitzgibbons, C.E., Giffard, N.R., Son, M.S., and Chabot, C.C. PerA appears to be part of the circadian clock in Limulus polyphemus, the American horseshoe crab. 2022 Student Showcase of Excellence. Plymouth, NH. April 27, 2022.
  12. Pavlik, A.M.*, Townsend, K.M.*, Thompson, M.*, and Son, M.S. The hapR SNP from clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae enhances virulence factor gene expression more than SNPs in luxO, vieA, and hns. Microbiology and Molecular Pathogenesis Program (M2P2) of Dartmouth College Retreat, Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, VT. February 24 – 25, 2022. 

Awards and Recognitions

  1. Recipient of the 2026 Faculty/Staff Award of Excellence presented by the PSU Alumni Association
  2. Keynote Speaker at the Pinning Ceremony for the 2025 Graduating Nursing Students at PSU
  3. Keynote Speaker at the Pinning Ceremony for the 2024 Graduating Nursing Students at PSU
    • First non-Nursing Keynote speaker
  4. Nominated for the 2024 ASM Carski Award for Undergraduate Education.
  5. Nominated for the 2023 Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award at PSU
  6. Nominated for the 2022 Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award at PSU
  7. Nominated for the 2021 ASM Carski Award for Undergraduate Education.
  8. Certificate of Recognition Spring 2021 for “Going above and beyond for PSU students”
  9. Certificate of Recognition Fall 2020 for “Going above and beyond for PSU students”
  10. Nominated for the 2020 Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award at PSU
  11. Nominated for the 2018 Distinguished Faculty Scholarship Award at PSU
  12. Recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award at PSU
  13. Nominated for the 2016 Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award at PSU