Chris Cornelison, Ph.D.

Dr. Cornelison earned his B.S. in Microbiology at the University of Georgia in 2009, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Applied and Environmental Microbiology at Georgia State University in 2011 and 2013, respectively.

While completing his PhD he became a co-inventor on a US patent assigned to Georgia State University and served as technical lead on an NSF I-Corps team related to this patented technology. He then served as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate with the US Forest Service until 2016 when he joined Kennesaw State University as a Research Scientist and the Director of the BioInnovation Laboratory. He joined the College of Science and Mathematics in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology in 2020, receiving tenure and promotion to Associate Professor in 2023. Dr. Cornelison directs externally funded research in his laboratory at KSU and is engaged in mentoring graduate and undergraduate researchers on campus. In addition to his faculty position, he serves as the Director of the Office of Intellectual Property Development in the Office of Research, managing the technology transfer functionality of the university and coordinating programing to support faculty entrepreneurship.

Dr. Cornelison is currently serving as the Interim Associate Vice President for Innovation and Commercialization, overseeing the HatchBridge business incubator, and industry engagement. Dr. Cornelison is also a founder of MycoLogic Inc., a spinout company from KSU that provides hardware and software for specialty mushroom cultivation. Dr. Cornelison serves as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous peer-reviewed journals, is a board member of the Georgia Bat Working Group, the Georgia Bio Academic Council, and the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance. Dr. Cornelison has received funding from, US forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Research Alliance, the Georgia Centers for Innovation, and Bat Conservation International.

Dr. Cornelison’s research has been featured in mainstream media including National Geographic, Nature, Wired Magazine, Atlanta Magazine, New York Times, and The Conversation.

Favorite Hobby:  Fly Fishing, Travel, Fine wines and food

Favorite Sports Team: Every US National Team

Favorite Music Artist: Metro Boomin