Rate My Professor Elizabeth Skovran

Elizabeth Skovran is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at San José State University, where she has served on the faculty since approximately 2012 and received tenure and promotion to Associate Professor in 2018. She earned her BS under Marc Rott at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, PhD under Diana Downs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and conducted postdoctoral research under Mary Lidstrom at the University of Washington. As Graduate Program Coordinator, she manages the MA in Biological Sciences and MS programs, including concentrations in Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Organismal Biology, Conservation and Ecology, and Physiology. In Biology, Skovran leads the Skovran Lab, focusing on the metabolism, physiology, and genetics of methylotrophic bacteria such as Methylobacterium extorquens AM1. Her research elucidates lanthanide acquisition and utilization for growth—the only known biological use of these rare earth elements essential for technologies like electronics and renewable energy—addressing U.S. reliance on environmentally destructive mining through biomining and biorecycling from e-waste like computer hard drives.

The lab engineers bacterial pathways for enhanced lanthanide transport, cofactor enzymes, regulatory systems, metal homeostasis, and cross-regulation, alongside increasing production of biodegradable plastics like polyhydroxybutyrate. Collaborating with UC Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Skovran's team filed a provisional patent for rare earth recovery from electronic waste. She has received the California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology award four times, supporting student researchers who have presented at conferences including the West Coast Bacterial Physiology meeting. By 2018, she published 18 peer-reviewed articles; notable works include "Scalable and Consolidated Microbial Platform for Rare Earth Element Leaching and Recovery from Waste Sources" (2023), "Scalable bio-platform to recover critical metals from complex waste sources" (2023), "Gene products and processes contributing to lanthanide homeostasis and methanol metabolism in Methylorubrum extorquens AM1" (2020), "Lanthanides in Methylotrophy" (2019), "Lanthanide-Dependent Regulation of Methanol Oxidation Systems in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 and Their Contribution to Methanol Growth" (2016), and "XoxF Is Required for Expression of Methanol Dehydrogenase in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1" (2011). Her contributions advance sustainable recycling and train students in genetics, biochemistry, and metabolic engineering.