Publications & Patents

Google Scholar Profile

Patent

Sheppard J, Dunn RR, and AA Madden. Methods for the production of fermented beverages and other fermentation products. U.S. Patent No. 11,008,539. May 18, 2021. Assignee: North Carolina State University.

• This patent and a library of yeast strains were exclusively licensed to Lachancea LLC in 2016
• This was the first-in-class lactic acid yeast for monoculture sour beer brewing, now an industry standard method.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

21. Madden AA, Ramakrishnan S, Berkmen M, Nai C, and Debenport T. (2026). Painting with yeast: An accessible microbial art activity using dehydrated Baker’s yeast and low-cost supplies. The American Biology Teacher.

Preprint: Available on Zenodo (2025). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15272100 

• Project Link: https://microbeinstitute.org/microbial-art
• Featured by The Scientist “Scientists Make Agar Art Accessible to Students” May 4, 2026.

20. Madden AA*, Oliverio AM*, Kearns PJ, Henley JB, Fierer N, Starks PTB, Wolfe BE, Romero LM, and CR Lattin. (2022) Chronic stress and captivity alter the cloacal microbiome of a wild songbird. Journal of Experimental Biology. 225, jeb243176. doi:10.1242/jeb.243176. PDF. Supplement. *These authors contributed equally to this paper.

19. Beasley DE, Muntazar M, Hu J, Dunn RR, and AA Madden. (2022) The bacterial community of childcare centers: Potential implications for microbial dispersal and childhood exposure. Environmental Microbiome. 17:8  PDF. Supplement.

18. Madden AA, Lahue C, Gordy CL, Little JL, Nichols LM, Clavert MD, Dunn RR, and C Smulkowski Heil. (2021) Sugar-seeking insects as a source of baking yeasts with enhanced attributes. Yeast. doi: 10.1002/yea.3676. PDF. Supplement.

• Awarded a “Top Cited Article 2022-2023” by the journal publisher Wiley

17. Calvert M, Madden AA, Nichols LM, Haddad NM, Lahne J, Dunn RR, and EA McKenney. (2021) A review of sourdough starters: Ecology, practices, and sensory quality with applications for baking and recommendations for future research. PeerJ. 9:e11389 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11389. 

16. Madden AA, Crowe E, Logee EE, and PT Starks. (2021) Growsafe: A chemical method to deactivate cultivated microorganisms using low-cost kitchen supplies. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education. 22(1) doi: 10.1128/jmbe.v22i1.2577. 

15. Landis EA, Oliverio AM, McKenney EA, Nichols LM, Kfoury N, Biango-Daniels M, Shell LK, Madden AA, Shapiro LR, Sakunala SK, Drake K, Robbat A, Booker M, Dunn RR, Fierer N, and BE Wolfe. (2021) The diversity and function of sourdough starter microbiomes. eLife. 10:e61644 doi: 10.7554/eLife.61644. PDF.

• Media Features (selected)
  • NPR “More than Bread: Sourdough as a Window into the Microbiome” (2017) Link: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/07/17/536485684/more-than-bread-sourdough-as-a-window-into-the-microbiome
  • The Scientist “Bakers Rise up to Tackle Sourdough Mysteries” (2024) Link: https://www.the-scientist.com/bakers-rise-up-to-tackle-sourdough-mysteries-72233

14. Lahue C, Madden AA, Dunn RR, and C Smukowski Heil. (2020) The genetic basis of adaptation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to baking: a review. Frontiers in Genetics, https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2020.584718

13. Reese A, Madden AA, Joossen M, Oliverio A, Lacaze G, and RR Dunn. (2020) Influences of ingredients and bakers on the bacteria and fungi in sourdough starters and bread. mSphere. doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00950-19. PDF.

• Media Features (selected)
  • BBC “The Strange Science Inside Your Sourdough” (2019) Link: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190730-the-strange-science-inside-your-sourdough
  • National Geographic Magazine “The Funky Science of Yeast, the Gassy Microbe Behind Coronavirus Pandemic Bread” (2020) Link: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/funky-science-yeast-gassy-microbe-behind-coronavirus-pandemic-bread
  • NPR The Salt “Sourdough Hands: How Bakers and Bread are a Microbial Match” (2018) Link: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/11/12/665655220/sourdough-hands-how-bakers-and-bread-are-a-microbial-match

12. Lucas J, Madden AA, Penick C, Epps MJ, Marting PR, Stevens JL, Fergus DJ, Dunn RR, and E Meineke. (2019) Azteca ants maintain unique microbiomes across functionally distinct nest chambers. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 286(1908) https://royalsocietypublishing-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2019.1026

• Journal cover feature: photo by Anne A. Madden

11. Lyke MM, Di Fiore A, Fierer N, Madden AA, and JE Lambert. (2019) Metagenomic analyses reveal previously unrecognized variation in the diets of sympatric Old World monkey species. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218245

10. Ryan SF, Adamson NL, Atkipis A, Andersen LK, Austin R, Barnes L, Beasley MR, Bedell KD, Briggs S, Chapman B, Cooper C, Corn J, Creamer NG, Delborne JA, Domenico P, Driscoll E, Goodwin J, Hjarding A, Hulbert JM, Isard S, Just MJ, Gupta KK, Uribe-Lopez MM, O’Sullivan J, Landis EA, Madden AA, McKenney EA, Nichols LM, Reading B, Russell S, Sengupta N, Shapiro LR, Shell L, Sheard JK, Shoemaker DD, Sorger DM, Starling C, Thakur S, Vatsavai R, Weinstein M, Wimfrey P, and RR Dunn. (2018) The role of citizen science in addressing grand challenges in food and agriculture research. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 285(1891). pii: 20181977. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1977 https://royalsocietypublishing-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2018.1977

9. Madden AA, Epps MJ, Fukami T, Irwin RE, Sheppard J, Sorger DM, and RR Dunn (2018) The ecology of insect-yeast relationships and its relevance to human industry. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 285(1875). pii: 20172733. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2733 https://royalsocietypublishing-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2017.2733

• Media Features (selected)
  • PBS NewsHour “Your Next Happy Hour Buzz, Brought to You by Bees” (2017) Link: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/next-happy-hour-buzz-brought-bees
  • Scientific American “The Beers and the Bees: Pollinators Provide a Different Kind of Brewer’s Yeast” (2017) Link: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-beers-and-the-bees-pollinators-provide-a-different-kind-of-brewer-rsquo-s-yeast/
  • Nature Biotechnology “Wasp Gut Microbes Yield Beer with Extra Tang” (2024) Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-024-02473-z

8. Madden AA, Boyden SD, Soriano JN, Corey TB, Leff JW, Fierer N, and PT Starks (2017) The emerging contribution of social wasps to grape rot disease ecology. PeerJ. 5:e3223; DOI 10.7717/peerj.3223. PDF. Supplement.

• Media Features (selected)
  • The Grapevine Magazine “Wasps and Wine: Paper Wasps Contribute to Sour Rot Disease a Scourge of Wine Industry” (2020) Link: https://thegrapevinemagazine.net/wp-content/issues/july-august-2020/files/basic-html/page63.html
  • The Science Times “Invasive European Paper Wasps Linked to the Grape Sour Rot Disease that Damage Wine Industry” (2017) Link: https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/13712/20170427/invasive-european-paper-wasps-relate-grape-sour-rot-disease-damage.htm

7. Madden AA, Barberan A, Bertone MA, Menninger HL, Dunn RR, and N Fierer (2016) The diversity of arthropods in homes across the United States as determined by environmental DNA analyses. Molecular Ecology. 25(24): 6214-6224. doi: 10.1111/mec.13900. PDF. Supplement.

• Featured in News and Views section
• Application: The methods developed in this paper were used by NASA to detect contaminants in the OSIRIS-REx mission spacecraft facilities (Regberg et al. (2020) Frontiers in Microbiology)
• Media Features (selected)
  • The Washington Post “Scientists Just Completed a Census of the Creepy Crawlies that Live in Our Homes” (2016) Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/11/02/scientists-just-completed-a-census-of-the-creepy-crawlies-that-live-in-our-homes/
  • Newsweek (print and digital) “Dust DNA Reveals All the Insects and Creatures that Live in American Homes” (2016) Link: https://www.newsweek.com/2016/12/02/first-nationwide-map-house-bugs-523932.html (featuring an interview with AA Madden)

6. Barberan A, Hammer, TJ, Madden AA, and N Fierer (2016) Microbes should be central to ecological education and outreach. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education. 17(1): 23-28. PDF.

5. Madden AA, Grassetti A, Soriano JN, and PT Starks (2013) Actinomycetes with antimicrobial activity isolated from paper wasp nests. Environmental Entomology. 42(2): 703-710. PDF.

4. Madden AA, Stchigel AM, Guarro J, Sutton DA, and PT Starks (2012) Mucor nidicola sp. nov., a novel fungal species isolated from an invasive paper wasp nest. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 62(7): 1710-1714. PDF.

• Journal cover feature: photo by Anne A. Madden

3. Madden AA, Davis MM, and PT Starks. (2010) First detailed report of brood parasitoidism in the invasive population of the paper wasp Polistes dominulus (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) in North America. Insectes Sociaux. 57(3): 257-260. PDF.

2. Saporito RA, Donnelly MA, Madden AA, Garraffo HM, and TF Spande. (2009) Sex-related differences in alkaloid chemical defenses of the dendrobatid frog Oophaga pumilio from Cayo Nancy, Bocas del Toro, Panama. Journal of Natural Products. 73(3): 317-321. PDF.

1. Peoples AJ, Zhang Q, Millett WP, Rothfeder MT, Pescatore BC, Madden AA, Ling LL,  Moore CM. (2008) Neocitreamicins I and II, novel antibiotics with activity against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci. Journal of Antibiotics. 61(7):457-463. PDF.

• Journal cover feature: photo by Anne A. Madden
• Application: Research resulted in patent applications: Peoples et al. 2008 “Citreamicin antibiotic isolated from Nocardia” WO2009085359A2 PCT and Peoples et al. 2008 “Citreamicin antibiotic with a sugar residue” WO2009085360A3 PCT

Covers