Brent Anderson, Postdoctoral Associate

From History Buff to Microbiology Researcher

Written by Gabriella Nanjo

Edited by Charlie Wong

As a child, Brent Anderson never imagined he would become a scientist. Growing up in a family without scientists, the idea simply never crossed his mind. In fact, his earliest passion was history. He devoured books on American history, fascinated by the stories of the past. Science, for him, was abstract rather than a possible future.

That changed in high school. A biology class, taught by a particularly passionate teacher, sparked something new in Brent. He discovered a curiosity for understanding how the world works at a deeper level. The tides had turned. Science was captivating.

Brent entered Furman University with pre-med in mind. But during the summer after his sophomore year, he joined a lab to fulfill the research requirement for medical school applications, working on a project that studied the effects of discharge from a local chicken processing plant on a nearby stream’s bacterial population. The team found that the discharge increased the prevalence of highly transmissible antibiotic resistance genes. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this is fantastic. This is the best thing I’ve ever done,’” Brent recalls. Working in that environmental microbiology lab convinced him that this was the path he wanted to pursue.

He stayed in the lab throughout his college years, publishing a paper and gaining a clear sense of direction for his future. He also fondly remembers a lab tradition called “Sketchy Fridays,” where the group would explore a new restaurant in the city every Friday. These outings gave the team a chance to bond and also provided valuable one-on-one time with his PI, preparing him for the collaborative relationship he would later have with advisers in graduate school.

Brent went on to earn his PhD in Microbiology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In choosing a lab, he was drawn to an adviser whose excitement for her work was infectious. “That convinced me that if she’s excited about it, I can be excited about it too,” he says. His choice proved perfect. The adviser was encouraging, the lab members were supportive and fun, and the science itself was fascinating. Brent’s research focused on elucidating the role of the fundamental stress-response molecule ppGpp in Gram-positive bacteria, work that challenged and inspired him.

For his postdoctoral work, Brent joined the Goodman Lab at Yale, shifting from a biochemistry-focused approach to a systems-level perspective with a focus on the gut microbiome. The transition was a natural fit, aligning with his growing interest in complex biological systems.

The journey hasn’t been without challenges. Projects have failed, and months of work have sometimes yielded unexpected or disappointing results. Brent spent a year on one postdoctoral project that didn’t go as planned, and even his first graduate school project posed significant difficulties. In those moments, what pulled him through were the encouraging advisers he has been fortunate to have, who helped him to forge a path forward.

Reflecting on his experiences, Brent offers advice to undergraduates looking to get involved in research: try it out, talk to researchers, and figure out if you enjoy it. When choosing a lab, he emphasizes the importance of considering the mentor’s availability and attentiveness.

Outside the lab, Brent enjoys exploring the world in a more relaxed way. He hikes, samples beers at breweries, and bakes, having tried nearly 2,000 different beers so far. His favorite things to bake are chocolate cake, cinnamon rolls, and bread.

Brent’s story is a reminder that passion can emerge in unexpected ways, and that the path to becoming a scientist is often shaped as much by curiosity, mentorship, and perseverance as by textbooks and lab experiments.