About
Research interests
We use field, lab, and bioinformatic methods to study microbial communities and their role in the environment and human health. We focus on cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms, which threaten freshwater ecosystems and drinking water supplies globally. By integrating multiple omics approaches (genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics) with experiments in the lab and the field, we seek to understand how environmental conditions and biological interactions shape the dynamics and toxicity of cyanobacterial blooms. We use the Great Lakes as a natural laboratory with the aim of informing environmental predictions and policy and protecting human health.
Approaches and technical interests
- Genomics (metagenomics) and proteomics of microbial communities in natural environments; functional approaches for identifying genes and enzymes
- Bioinformatics
- Biochemistry: protein purification and enzyme function
- Microbial physiology: isolation and physiological studies of microbes in pure culture
Teaching
EARTH 112: Life in Extreme Environments (1 credit minicourse)
Life inhabits nearly every environment on Earth, from boiling hot springs to the bottom of the ocean to freezing subglacial lakes. This course surveys the bizarre life forms that call these environments home, explores adaptations to extreme physical and chemical conditions, and highlights biotechnological resources from extreme life.
EARTH/ENVIRON 175: The Microbial World (4 credits)
This course examines how microorganisms shape the world around us, both throughout the Earth’s history and today. Major topics include the origin and evolution of life, the interplay between microbes and the environment, roles of microbes in global warming, and applications of microbiology in biotechnology and energy. Intended for non-science majors.
EARTH 202: Introductory Earth and Environmental Science in the Rockies (4 credits)
This course, taught at the Camp Davis Rocky Mountain Field Station in Jackson Hole, WY, introduces students to environmental science in the Rocky Mountains. The objective of the course is to understand through observation and hands-on experience how natural and human processes cause environmental change. Students learn the principles of the physical sciences, including aspects of earth, atmosphere, and biogeographical sciences, while experiencing the grandeur of the west.
EARTH 313: Geobiology (4 credits)
This course willl address several core geobiological themes in two very different worlds, the microbial world and the vertebrate world. Themes include the coevolution of the biosphere and geosphere, major evolutionary innovations and events, diversity of life and metabolism, biomechanics, and biogeography. Offered every Fall.
EARTH 413: Geomicrobiology (3 credits)
This course investigates how and why microorganisms (primarily bacteria and archaea) drive geochemical processes. Emphasis is placed on the integration of cellular physiology/metabolism with cycling and transformation of elements. Topics include microbe-mineral interactions; roles of microbes in the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and metals; and critical evaluation of molecular biogeochemical approaches.
EARTH 523: Microbial Community Omics (3 credits)
This course will focus on emerging “omics” approaches (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics) to studying microorganisms and their interactions with various environments. It will cover both conceptual and analytical aspects of microbial genome science through lecture and laboratory exercises. Lab exercises will focus on utilization of high-performance computing to analyze real datasets. Offered Fall 2014, Winter 2017, and every other winter thereafter.
Research Areas(s)
- Geomicrobiology, marine microbiology, and microbial community genomics
Affiliation(s)
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Field(s) of Study
- Geomicrobiology
- Marine microbiology and oceanography
- Molecular mechanisms of biogeochemical processes
- Molecular evolution
- Genomics, metagenomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics
- Microbial metabolic diversity
- Astrobiology and life in extreme environments
