University of Dubuque Student Places First in Undergraduate Poster Presentation

DUBUQUE, Iowa - University of Dubuque senior biology major Matthew Peterson won first place in the undergraduate poster presentation category at the 85th annual Meeting of the North Central Branch of the Society for Microbiology at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

His poster, titled "Characterizing the Composition and Diversity of Aeolian Dust-Associated Microbial Communities Deposited on Alpine Snowpack," shared research that showed bacteria can be transported thousands of miles by dust storms and deposited on high-elevation mountain snowpack.

"As dust storms are increasing worldwide, people are researching their environmental effects. However, there isn't a lot of researching looking into the bacteria that is being transported along with the dust," Peterson said. "Our research looked into four dust storms in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado from 2019. We used meteorological data to attempt to trace the storms' paths to find an emission region, then we compared the bacterial genetic data found in the dust transported with those storms and compared it to bacteria genetic data from the snow that was present prior to the storms. We found that the dust storms are transporting bacteria that are statistically distinct from bacterial already present in mountain snowpack."

Adam Kleinschmit, PhD, professor of biology who has mentored Peterson throughout his undergraduate research, also attended the conference in November 2025.

"I was absolutely thrilled to hear Matt's name as the awards were announced," Kleinschmit said. "I anticipated that Matt would be a contender, given that his project was well developed, along with his strong grasp of the underlying concepts, results, interpretation, and good poster visuals. After seeing and interacting with competing students, it was evident that there were several solid projects, making it hard to predict how the reviewing judges might score. But overall, I wasn't entirely surprised that Matt placed so well. His hard work and preparation really showed."

Peterson's winning poster highlighted his microbiology research through the Joseph and Linda Chlapaty Summer Research Fellowship. The Dubuque native was one of eight students selected as fellows for the competitive program in 2025.

"The fellowship was a great introduction into the entire research process - from the brainstorming of an idea, to the planning of the research and the actual research itself, all the way to the presentation of the research," Peterson said. "The weekly meetings we attended as part of the fellowship were also greatly beneficial as we were able to connect with our peers and get updates on their research progress and struggles they were experiencing. It helped to see I wasn't alone in the struggles of being a first-time researcher. Working with my advisor was also a great experience as he was always available to answer questions and help guide me on the correct path."

Kleinschmit also has enjoyed mentoring Peterson and watching him grow as a student researcher.

"He works very comfortably and confidently on his own, while naturally reaching out with thoughtful questions or to get insight when needed," Kleinschmit said. "Throughout the process, he looked for ways to make the analysis as rigorous as possible and iteratively refined his visuals until they were polished. These qualities are exactly what make him such a strong student researcher."

When Peterson looks back on his research, one tidbit that stands out to him was the detection of unexpectantly high levels of bacteria within the genus Acidiphilium in the dust samples.

"Acidiphilium is a bacteria that, as its name suggests, is associated with acidic environments," Peterson said. "It is commonly known to thrive in the tailings, or runoff, from mining operations. Yet, here it was sitting on some dust near the peak of a mountain. Clearly it wasn't from the area and came from a much more hazardous environment than where we found it."