Appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate in June 2014, biologist Jo Handelsman has taken a public service leave from Yale University to focus on advancing basic research and developing targeted areas in biological research, STEM education, and diversity in science. During her White House service, Handelsman’s Yale laboratory is continuing its work under the direction of two of her former graduate students, carrying out studies to understand diversity in microbial communities and the role of these communities in infectious disease. Current research uses the fruit fly gut as a model for the microbiology of the human gut and employs functional metagenomics to probe microbial communities’ genetic and biochemical diversity. Handelsman, who is making her third appearance at CASW's New Horizons in Science, earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and joined UW’s plant pathology faculty in 1985. After serving in a number of roles, including chair of the Department of Bacteriology, she moved to Yale in 2010. At both universities she has been instrumental in founding and directing programs that teach the principles and practices of evidence-based education to current and future faculty at colleges and universities nationwide. Her teaching, mentorship and research and her promotion of opportunities for women and minorities in science have been recognized with a number of awards.She received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in 2011 and also co-chaired the PCAST working group that developed Engage to Excel, a 2012 report making recommendations for strengthening STEM education to meet workforce needs. She has also served the scientific community as a panel member, peer reviewer and journal editor and as president of the American Society for Microbiology. Twitter: @Jo_OSTP