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Welcome to my website!
Welcome to my website!
I am a microbiologist who studies the vast array of microorganisms that inhabit every corner of our large and diverse planet. I currently work as a Lecturer at the University of Waikato (Hamilton, New Zealand) in the Thermophile Research Unit, studying microorganisms inhabiting Antarctic geothermal sites.
I am a microbiologist who studies the vast array of microorganisms that inhabit every corner of our large and diverse planet. I currently work as a Lecturer at the University of Waikato (Hamilton, New Zealand) in the Thermophile Research Unit, studying microorganisms inhabiting Antarctic geothermal sites.
What are the microorganisms that inhabit our planet? How do they survive in extreme environments and what aspects of their physiology enable them to thrive? I am addressing these sorts of questions using new (and old) techniques to bring microorganisms into the lab to study their physiology. I am pairing these experiments with culture-independent methods such as DNA and RNA sequencing to help us understand the roles that microbes play in the environment.
In my PhD, I used these methods to further characterize the physiology of the most abundant group of bacteria in the world, the marine SAR11 group. I am currently using these methods to study how the thermophilic (heat-loving) Cyanobacteria (photosynthetic bacteria) on Mt. Erebus survive the three months of complete darkness they experience every winter.
Research Projects
Research Projects
Find out more about my past and present research projects.
Mt. Erebus Cyanobacteria winter survival
Mt. Erebus Cyanobacteria winter survival
MAGMA Project: Multidisciplinary Analysis of Geothermal Microbes in Antarctica
MAGMA Project: Multidisciplinary Analysis of Geothermal Microbes in Antarctica
PhD research: SAR11 physiology
PhD research: SAR11 physiology
Research interests: extremophiles; microbial ecology; microbial physiology and metabolism; cultivation of novel microbes; marine microbiology
Education: B.S. in Biology from Geneva College; Ph.D. in Molecular & Cellular Biology from Oregon State University
Publications
Publications
2026: How will the keystone photosynthetic bacteria in Antarctic meltwater ponds respond to future climate scenarios? We show that desiccation (due to decreased precipitation) will have a much stronger impact on microbial community than shading (due to increased precipitation).
2026: Analyzing legacy data: what happens to the microbial community in a meltwater pond on the ice shelf near Bratina Island, Antarctica as the pond freezes with winter? Our analysis revealed a significant shift towards a highly unique microbial community dominated by Archaea of unknown function.
2025: Exploring the microbial communities at Antarctic geothermal sites: Mts. Erebus, Rittmann, and Melbourne. We found strong signatures for dispersal of microbes between these isolated sites.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.70032
2024: Exploring the predicted metabolic functions of some of the most unique microorganisms inhabiting geothermally heated soils on Mt. Erebus, Antarctica.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-024-00655-5
2024: Comprehensive survey of the biota (across all three domains of life) inhabiting all different types of geothermally heated soils found on Mt. Erebus, Antarctica.
https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiae128
2024: The globally abundant marine bacterium SAR11 takes up a required vitamin B1 precursor, HMP, with high affinity through a specific transporter.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.70023
2024: Discovery and genomic description of a novel group of cold-adapted Vibrio species that may play a role in intestinal infections of an unknown shellfish
2023: Review that shows that aquatic oligotrophs have reduced transcriptional regulation of genes
2023: A lack of motility in aquatic oligotrophs is a large reason behind the lack of transcriptional regulation in these cell types
2022: Comparison of microbial communities inhabiting two geothermal sites on Mt. Erebus, Antarctica
2021: SAR11 polyamine transport and metabolism
2021: Oligotrophic educational board game and curriculum
https://www.nsta.org/science-teacher/science-teacher-mayjune-2021/oligotrophic
2019: SAR11 glycine betaine transporter
2019: Role of SAR11 in marine arsenic cycling
2019: genome of a bacterium from an acid mine drainage-influenced creek
Interested in knowing more about the science I do, or have an idea for a collaboration?
Interested in knowing more about the science I do, or have an idea for a collaboration?
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