Research

My research focuses on microbial respiratory pathways: their importance for microbial adaptation to diverse environments and their impact on global biogeochemical cycling. In the past, my colleagues and I have used our understanding of the molecular evolution of respiratory proteins to discover novel pathways in denitrification and aerobic respiration. I aim to uncover patterns in microbial diversity using metagenomic data from diverse environments, such as marine ecosystems and hot springs, to develop testable biochemical hypotheses. One of the driving questions in my research is understanding
how microbial metabolism and physiology changed irrevocably with the rise of oxygen in the atmosphere. We’ll sample in the field to put biogeochemical cycling into environmental context; perform physiological characterization of environmental samples and isolated microorganisms that perform critical roles in nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur cycling; and perform bioinformatics analyses to further understand the evolution of metabolic pathways.

Interests

Bioenergetics; Microbial Respiration; Molecular Evolution; Microbial Biochemistry; Microbial Physiology; Geomicrobiology