Rate My Professor Babur Mirza

Babur S. Mirza is an associate professor in the Department of Biology at Missouri State University, formerly Southwest Missouri State University. He earned a Ph.D. in Aquatic Resources with a focus on microbial ecology from Texas State University in 2009, an M.Phil. in plant physiology from Quaid-i-Azam University in 2003, and a B.Sc. (Hons.) in soil sciences and soil microbiology from the University of Agriculture Faisalabad in 2000. Before joining Missouri State as an assistant professor in 2017, Mirza served as a research scientist in environmental microbiology at Utah State University's Water Research Laboratory from 2015 to 2017, postdoctoral research associate there from 2013 to 2014, and postdoctoral research associate in molecular microbial ecology at the University of Texas at Arlington from 2010 to 2012. He was promoted to associate professor in 2023.

Mirza's research centers on microbial ecology, including diazotrophs, rhizosphere and phyllosphere microbiomes, bacterial pathogens in watersheds, cyanobacteria diversity and toxigenicity, and plant-microbe interactions for sustainable agriculture. His publications appear in leading journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, and Diversity. Key works include 'Conversion of the Amazon rainforest to agriculture results in biotic homogenization of soil bacterial communities' (PNAS, 2013), 'Soybean root nodule and rhizosphere microbiome: Distribution of rhizobial and non-rhizobial endophytes' (Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2021), 'Microbiome of bacterially impaired watersheds: Distribution of potential bacterial pathogens' (Diversity, 2022), and 'Diazotrophs show signs of restoration in Amazon rain forest soils with ecosystem rehabilitation' (Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2020). He has obtained grants such as a $67,402 USGS project on cyanobacteria (2020-2021) and a $147,870 Mineral Lease Fund award (2013-2015). Mirza received College of Natural and Applied Sciences awards for Faculty Excellence in Teaching (2021, 2024), Service (2024), and Research (2025), plus a Master Online Course Recognition Award (2022). He chairs hiring committees, coordinates the Master of Natural and Applied Sciences program, reviews grants and manuscripts, and leads outreach like Science Olympiad events and hosting Health Sciences Academy students. His students have won multiple presentation awards at conferences.