Our primary interest is to better understand the interaction of the biosphere and geosphere broadly, as well as to better understand novel microbes and their ecologies and physiologies. In practice, we study bacteria in the field, in the lab, and via clinical samples - through enrichment culturing, physiology studies, geochemical analyses and molecular methods such as metagenomics. Some of our active research projects and areas of interest include:
- Studying the ecology and symbioses of Thiomargarita and other sulfur bacteria
- Investigating the role of polyphosphate-accumulating bacteria in caries-associated mineral dissolution
- Investigating the role of sulfur bacteria in marine phosphorite formation, barite formation, and carbonate dissolution
- Developing antibodies as in-situ organic biomarker detection tools
