Anthony Vecchiarelli, Ph.D.

Anthony Vecchiarelli, Ph.D.

University of Michigan

Anthony Vecchiarelli, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at the University of Michigan. The Vecchiarelli Lab uses interdisciplinary approaches to understand the mechanisms underlying subcellular organization in bacteria. 

Vecchiarelli grew up in Toronto, Canada and holds B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in molecular genetics and microbiology from the University of Toronto. His graduate research was under the supervision of Dr. Barbara Funnell at the University of Toronto, where he used biochemistry, cell biology and genetics to determine the mechanisms underlying bacterial DNA segregation. As a postdoc in Dr. Kiyoshi Mizuuchi’s lab at the National Institutes of Health, Vecchiarelli developed a cell-free approach to reconstitute and visualize the bacterial systems involved in DNA segregation and cell division positioning. Collectively, these studies changed our understanding of subcellular organization in bacteria by unveiling a mode of transport that uses protein gradients on biological surfaces for the positioning of DNA, the cell division machinery and other essential cargos. Vecchiarelli started his own lab at the University of Michigan in Jan. 2017. 

Outside of doing and thinking about science with his students, Vecchiarelli loves conveying his love of science through outreach events. When not in the lab, you’ll find him playing Nintendo Switch with his 2 boys.