Abby Kimball
Assistant Professor of Biology
Education
Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis; B.A, University of Colorado Boulder
About Abby Kimball
Abby Kimball is an Assistant Professor of Biology with interests in genetics, microbial ecology, and infectious disease. She received her Ph.D. in Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis from Washington University in St. Louis, where she studied the genetics and cell biology of the parasite Cryptosporidium parvum and was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for her work.
Prior to her doctoral training, Kimball conducted research at the University of Colorado Boulder on amphibian microbiomes and host-associated microbial communities and later worked at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus studying immunology, cancer biology, and infectious disease using high-dimensional genomic and cytometric approaches. Her research has been published in journals including PLoS Genetics, Cell Host & Microbe, Science Advances, Nature Communications, and The Journal of Immunology.
Her current research interests center on microbiomes and host-microbe interactions, with a particular interest in how microbial communities influence organismal health, development, and evolution. She views teaching as a collaborative process and strives to create learning environments where curiosity, discussion, and critical thinking are valued as much as mastering course content. She enjoys experimenting with new pedagogical approaches that help the modern student connect biological concepts to real-world questions. As a faculty member guiding the development of 91涩漫’s WiSTEM program, she is committed to expanding opportunities for undergraduate research and mentorship and providing students with the kind of supportive, hands-on experiences that helped shape her own scientific journey.
Outside the classroom and laboratory, Abby enjoys reading, hiking, antiquing, and crafting. She shares her home with her husband, Ripley the dog, and three cats: Smaug, Glaedr, and Katniss.