Brief Synopsis of Research and Educational Activities
My speciality is the marine microbial ecology and geomicrobiology of hydrothermal vent systems. I also maintain interests in terrestrial and aquatic microbial ecology, microbe-macrobe symbiotic relationships, bioremediation and microbial cycles that impact global climate change. My most recent work includes the co-discovery (with David Emerson, Bigelow Labs, ME) of a novel class of neutrophilic iron-oxidizing bacteria known as the zeta-Proteobacteria, the detection of hyper-diverse microbial communities associated with deep-ocean basalts (with Katrina Edwards, USC, CA) and the determination that vestimentiferan tubeworms can harbor more than a single population of endosymbionts associated with their trophosome. My lab was also the first to describe the microbial communities associated with active volcanoes along the Mariana Arc region. Beyond establishing the basic microbial census information, we also identified that this area was a microbial hotspot regarding unusually high bacterial biodiversity and our discoveries were used to support the federal government’s recommendation and eventual formation of the Mariana Marine Sanctuary, which is now a national monument in the Western Pacific. Currently, my lab is working to describe the community structure and diversity of extremophilic Archaea and Bacteria associated with deep-sea springs emanating pH 12.5 fluids that occur at the summit of mud volcanoes located along the Mariana Forearc. These microbial communities represent to upper boundary with respect to pH that life is known to exist on Earth and are fueled by serpentinization reactions occurring ~30 kilometers deep within the oceanic crust. Finally, as part of the Iron Microbial Observatory or FeMO, we are continuing our long-term study of iron- and sulfur-oxidizing Bacteria from the hydrothermal vents in and around the caldera at Loihi Seamount, the soon-to-be next island in the Hawaiian chain. We are presently monitoring the ecological changes in these microbial communities that have occurred after a major eruptive event.
My educational activities include facilitating opportunities for both undergraduates and Master's level graduate students. I am also involved with educational outreach at both elementary and secondary levels. My teaching focuses in the areas of cell biology, microbiology, molecular phylogeny and microbial ecology.
