Patrick Ball received his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Biochemistry from the University of Montana. After spending two years in the private sector as a pharmaceutical research scientist, he returned to Post-doc at U of M in the Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology and was later appointed an Assistant Research Professorship.

Research Interests

His research interests span the scope of environmental microbiology, focusing primarily on the examination of microbial community structure, function, diversity, and abundance or organisms from a variety of environments. His efforts are currently focused on developing more joint class/laboratory experiences for undergraduate students and getting them involved in small research projects.

Deschutes River Basin Research
In 2012, Dr. Ball began a collaboration with OSU's microbiology department in Corvallis to document the distribution and abundance of fish pathogens in the Deschutes River Basin.