http://alrlab.research.pdx.edu/Aquificales/

Research Interests

Our lab studies the microbial ecology of high temperature terrestrial and deep-sea hydrothermal vents. We are interested in global patterns of biodiversity in these ecosystems and use the observations to study the physiological ecology and diversity of key thermophilic populations. We use a combination of classical cultivation, molecular phylogenetic, metagenomic and transcriptomic approaches to address these fundamental questions about ecosystems that are so tightly connected to the geology and geochemistry of their environment.

We currently have two NSF-funded projects:

Enhancing expertise in archaeal taxonomy: Classical and molecular-based monographic research of the Nanoarchaeota. (co-I, Mircea Podar).

Geochemical effects on the functional microbial community dynamics of hydrothermal deposits along the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (co-I, Jeff Seewald).