UNIONDALE, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Marquis Who's Who honors Guy Plunkett III, PhD, for his excellence in bacteriology and higher education. He currently holds the title of senior scientist emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he has helped advance the understanding of microbial systems since 1989. His decades-long career in the field of bacteriology has paved the way for the future scientists he now mentors.
A Lifelong Learner
Possessing a strong interest in the natural sciences from an early age, Dr. Plunkett sought to make a career out of his passion. He started by obtaining a bachelor's degree in life science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975.
Two years later, Dr. Plunkett earned a master's degree in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in bacteriology in 1988 from the same institution. He rounded out his formal education with a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular biology from the University of California, Berkeley, completed that same year.
Consultant, Researcher and Educator
After volunteering in a hospital lab while job hunting, Dr. Plunkett joined the nascent E. coli Genome Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He continued to serve in a number of research roles at the university, both with the Laboratory of Genetics and the Genome Center of Wisconsin, and was awarded emeritus status upon his retirement in 2016. In that status, he continues to pass on the invaluable knowledge he gained while conducting bacteriologic research and providing consultation services.
During his time at the university, Dr. Plunkett served as a senior curator at the Enteropathogen Resource Integration Center (ERIC-BRC) from 2004 to 2009, and from 2009 to 2016 was the project coordinator for AToL:Enterobacteriaceae, a project to assemble a taxonomically balanced genome-scale reconstruction of the evolutionary history of the Enterobacteriaceae. In these roles, he helped curate and manage the projects, ensuring researchers worldwide would be able to easily access integral microbial data. His efforts allowed the center to maintain high standards for both accessibility and data quality.
In 2002, Dr. Plunkett began a position as a consultant for Scarab Genomics and continues in that role to this day. He applied his extensive expertise in microbial genetics to support the development of reduced genome E. coli strains, leading to several patents. This advancement proved instrumental in gaining a fuller understanding of a model organism used in biological research, setting the groundwork for more informed research involving E. coli.
Dr. Plunkett also consulted at the biotechnology company DNASTAR and, upon his retirement from the university, he assumed a position as senior scientist, a role he held until 2020. In this capacity, he furthered software solutions for DNA sequence analysis, which helped maintain DNASTAR's status as a leader in bioinformatics. His contributions showcased his ability to unite the previously distant fields of practical applications in genomics and computational biology.
Inspirations and Dedications
Outside of the classroom, Dr. Plunkett shares his research and stays up-to-date on current news in his field through professional organizations, such as the Bergey's International Society for Microbial Systematics and the American Society for Microbiology.
Dr. Plunkett attributes much of his success to his lifelong interest in science, which he states began when he read "The Golden Treasury of Natural History" as a child. He also expresses deep gratitude to his late wife of close to 50 years, Joanne Harper Plunkett, for her unwavering love and support. This passion and support enabled him to obtain a wealth of experience and knowledge, a privilege he now extends to others through his contributions to genomics and microbiology.
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