Dr. Mark O. Martin, Associate professor of biology at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington is a distinguished educator with a well-known social media presence. He discusses how he became interested in microbiology and what drives his varied research foci, including #Microbialcentricity, bacterial predation, bioluminescence, tardigrades, microbial midwives and more. In the process, he delves into his passion for using art and other creative approaches to facilitate learning in the classroom, and shares some experience-driven wisdom about building confidence in STEM. Links for this Episode: Vertically transmitted microbiome protects eggs from fungal infection and egg failure https://animalmicrobiome.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42523-021-00104-5 The effects of Sceloporus virgatus cloacal microbiota on the growth of pathogenic fungi https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/summer_research/426/ Sex-specific asymmetry within the cloacal microbiota of the striped plateau lizard, Sceloporus virgatus https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13199-010-0078-y Predatory Prokaryotes: An Emerging Research Opportunity (pdf) https://www.pugetsound.edu/sites/default/files/file/martin2002_0.pdf Carleton College #LuxArt 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fztiJ3o7uWs