Projects

The Hibernator Microbiome Metabolic Phenotype

The goal of our study is to understand the interplay between host diet, the gut microbiota, and host biology. We utilize hibernation as a model system to measure the extreme shifts in nutrition from summer to winter, where there is an absence of food for a long period of time during seasonal hibernation in mammals, on abundance and diversity of gut microbiota.

Lake Microbiomes

The North Temperate Lakes Microbial Observatory seeks to understand how freshwater microbial communities assemble, the underlying traits and lifestyles of their individual members, and interactions among their members.

The Weathering Microbiome

This project will define the microbial processes and species responsible for oxidation of ferrous iron (where the iron ion shares two of its electrons) and consequent weathering of iron-containing mineral aggregates.