Assistant Professor

Dr. Scarborough's research focuses on the application of microbiomes (aka, microbial communities) to protect the natural environment and public health. His current foci include (1) management of organic wastes with the goal of harnessing reactor microbiomes to convert renewable feedstocks to valuable products; and (2) reducing greenhouse gas emissions from landfills with soil microbiomes. Dr. Scarborough's work encapsulates many scales, from studying the function of individual enzymes to implementing full-scale microbiome-based conversion platforms.

Dr. Scarborough earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin - Madison where he worked as part of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. He previously worked for a large environmental consulting company as a wastewater engineer and is a licensed professional engineer in Vermont. In addition to conducting environmental engineering research, Dr. Scarborough uses a teaching-as-research framework to assess teaching practices and develop learner-centered courses.

Publications

(Selected Publications)

Lienhart, P.H., Rohra, V.*, Clement, C.*, Toppen, L.C., Rizzo, D.M., Scarborough, M. 2024. Landfill intermediate cover soil microbiomes and their potential for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions revealed through metagenomics. Science of the Total Environment, 925, 171697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171697 [IF = 10.7]

DeCola, A.C., Toppen, L.C., Brown, K.P., Dadkhah, A., Rizzo, D.M., Ziels, R.M., Scarborough, M. 2024. Microbiome assembly and stability during start-up of a full-scale, two-phase anaerobic digester fed cow manure and mixed organic feedstocks. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2023.130247 Bioresource Technology, 394, 130247. [IF = 11.2]

McDaniel, E.A., Scarborough, M., Mulat, D.G., Lin, X., Sampara, P.S., Olson, H.M., Yopung, R.P., Eder, E. K., Attah, I.K., Markillie, L.M., Hoyt, D.W., Lipton, M.S., Hallam, S.J., Ziels, R.M. 2023. Diverse electron carriers drive syntrophic interactions in an enriched anaerobic acetate-oxidizing consortium. ISME Journal. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-023-01542-6 [IF = 11.0].

Porterfield, K., Scarborough, M., Roy, E. 2023. Organics recycling tradeoffs: Biogas potential and microplastic content of mechanically depackaged food waste. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering. ttps://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c01710 [IF = 9.22]

Myers, K., Ingle, A., Walters, K., Fortney, N., Scarborough, M., Donohue, T., Noguera, D. 2023. Comparison of metagenomes from fermentation of various agroindustrial residues suggests a common model of community organization. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. 11. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1197175/full [IF = 5.66]

Neher, D., Harris, J., Horner, C., Scarborough, M. Badireddy, R., Faulkner, J., White, A., Darby, H., Farley, J., Von-Wettberg, E. 2022. Resilient Soils for Resilient Farms: An Integrative Approach to Assess, Promote and Value Soil Health for Small- and Medium-Size Farms. Phytobiomes. [IF = 3.24]

Scarborough, MJ., Lawson, CE., DeCola, AC., Gois, IM. 2022. Microbiomes for sustainable biomanufacturing. Current Opionin in Micorbiology (65) 8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2021.09.015 [IF = 7.93]

Stamatopoulou, P., Malkowski, J.*, Conrado, L., Brown, K.*, Scarborough, M. 2020. Fermentation of Organic Residues to Beneficial Chemicals: A Review of Medium-Chain Fatty Acid Production. Processes 8(12), 1571. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8121571. [IF = 3.04]

Scarborough, MJ., Hamilton, JJ., Erb, EE., Donohue, TJ., Noguera, DR. 2020. Diagnosing and predicting mixed culture fermentations with unicellular and guild-based metabolic models. mSystems 5:e00755- 20. https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00755-20. [IF = 6.63]

Scarborough, MJ., Meyers, KM., Donohue, TJ., Noguera, DR. 2020. Multi-omic analysis of medium-chain fatty acid synthesis by Candidatus Pseudoramibacter fermentans, sp. nov., and Candidatus Weimeria bifida, gen. nov., sp. nov.. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 10.1128/AEM.02242-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.02242-19 (Spotlight Selection) [IF = 4.02]

Scarborough, MJ., Lawson, CE., Hamilton, JJ., Donohue, TJ., Noguera, DR. 2018. Metatranscriptomic and thermodynamic insights into medium-chain fatty acid production. mSystems 3 (6) 00221-18. [Editor’s Pick] [IF = 6.60]

Scarborough, MJ., Lynch, G., Dickson, M., McGee, M., Donohue, T., Noguera, DR. 2018. Increasing the economic value of lignocellulosic stillage through medium-chain fatty acid production. Biotechnology for Biofuels 11 (1), 200. [IF = 5.45]

Awards and Recognition

• Gregory N. Sweeny Green and Gold Professor of Civil Engineering 2023 - Present
• University of Vermont Graduate Student Senate Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award 2023
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award 2022
•. College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Excellence in Student Advising Award 2022
• University of Vermont Graduate Student Senate Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award 2022
• The University of Vermont Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award 2021
• American Society for Engr. Education Environmental Engr. Division Early Career Award 2020

Associations and Affiliations

Gund Institute for Environment, Food Systems Research Center

Areas of Expertise and/or Research

Biological Wastewater Treatment, Anaerobic Bioprocessing of Wastes, Landfill Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Mitigation, Microbiome Engineering, Modeling of Microbiomes

Education

  • University of Wisconsin - Madison, Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2019
  • University of Wyoming, B.S., Civil Engineering (Environmental Option), 2008

Contact

Email:

mscarbor@uvm.edu

Office Location:

Votey 213D

Website(s):
  1. Lab Website

Courses Taught

  • CEE 3510 - Water and Wastewater Engineering
  • CEE 5560 - Biological Processes for Water and Wastewater Treatment
  • CEE 4570 - Sustainable Resource Recovery Design