Director
Gary S. Sayler,
founding director of the UT Center for Environmental
Biotechnology, is a Beaman Distinguished Professor of
Microbiology, Adjunct Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
and director of the UT-ORNL Joint
Institute for Biological Sciences. Dr. Sayler has over 30 years of experience in multidisciplinary laboratory and field environmental research and biodegradation of organic pollutants such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and trichloroethylene (TCE). Over the past 15 years, he has pioneered the development of environmental molecular diagnostics
leading to 14 patents, including the extraction and analysis of nucleic acids from soils, environmental gene probe analysis, bioluminescent bioreporter technology, and the first field release of a genetically-engineered microorganism for remediation purposes. This research has resulted in over
300 technical publications and monographs and over 300 invited presentations at the national and international level. He is a member of five professional societies and currently serves on five editorial boards.