06.10.2019 -06.14.2019 - Vadym and Jiying presented our work on how invasive quagga mussels impact sediment and water geochemistry of the Great Lakes at the IAGLR 2019 meeting at SUNY Brockport, NY.

06.03.2019 - Jiying's paper "Sediment geochemistry and contributions to carbon and nutrient cycling in a deep meromictic tropical lake: Lake Malawi (East Africa)" is awarded the Elsevier Early Career/Young Scientist Most Notable Paper Award given annually by the International Association for Great Lakes Research!

05.21.2018- 06.02.2019 - We successfully completed our research expedition on Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron studying the invasive mussels impacting sediment geochemistry and nutrient exchanges! We sampled 9 primary stations including transects (shallow to deep sites), despite a day of hiding from storms in Houghton, MI (museum, bakery and bars). See this short video about what we are doing!

11.21.2018 -- Li and Dittrich manuscript "Dynamic polyphosphate metabolism in cyanobacteria responding to phosphorus availability" is accepted for publication in Environmental Microbiology (PDF)!

07.31.2018-08.12.2108 -- Our research expedition on Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron surveyed the invasive mussels coverage on the lake floor and investigated their impact on sediment geochemistry and benthic-pelagic exchanges. Read more

07.23.2018 -- Jiying joined Profs. Sergei Katsev and Prof. Ted Ozersky's groups as a postdoc researcher at the Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota Duluth.

07.22.2018 -- Jiying arrived in Duluth, MN, where she did her PhD years ago. So glad to see you again Lake Superior!

06.20.2018 -- Jiying presented at the IAGRL 2018 meeting: Seasonal and spatial variability of polyphosphate in the water column of Hamilton Habour (Abstract).

06.19.2018 -- The Dittrich team met with Scientists from Environment and Climate Change Canada to exchange ideas; Jiying gave a presentation on polyP in Hamilton Harbor.

02.16.2018 -- Li et al paper "Phosphorus recyling in deeply oxygenated sediments in Lake Superior controlled by organic matter mineralization" is published in the L&O (link).

01.03.2018 -- Li et al paper "Sediment geochemistry and contributions to carbon and nutrient cycling in a deep meromictic tropical lake: Lake Malawi (East Africa)" is published in the JGLR (link).

11.29.2017 -- It cools to just a few degrees above zero in Toronto, to celebrate the last day of water sampling on Hamilton Harbor, Lake Ontario. Read more about the Hamilton Harbor work

10.23.2017 -- Crowe et al paper "Novel anammox bacteria and nitrogen loss from Lake Superior" is published on Scientific Reports (link).

09.22.2017-09.29.2017 -- Jiying sampled sediments from Lake of the Woods by joining the research expedition hosted by Environment and Climate Change Canada, to collect sediment samples, investigate sediment geochemistry and quantify internal phosphorus loading. Read more

09.15.2017 -- Fakhraee et al paper "Significant role of organic sulfur in supporting sedimentary sulfate reduction in low-sulfate environments" is published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (link).

07.11.2017 -- A sunny day in Toronto welcomes our first water samples collected from Hamilton Harbor, Lake Ontario, with helps of scientists/technicians from Environment and Climate Change Canada. This project investigates seasonal dynamics of polyphosphate. Read more about the Hamilton Harbor work

06.12.2017 -- Jiying presented the work on polyphosphate in cyanobacteria at the 1st Geobiology meeting at Banff, AB, Canada (Abstract)

03.08.2017 -- Li et al paper "Phosphorus availability and turnover in the Chesapeake Bay: Insights from nutrient stoichiometry and phosphate oxygen isotope ratios" is published on JGR-Biogeosciences (link).

03.08.2017 -- Li et al paper "Water column particulate matter a key contributor to phosphorus regeneration in a coastal eutrophic environment, the Chesapeake Bay" is published on JGR-Biogeosciences (link).

09.22.2016 -- The refreshing air of Ontario's Autumn makes a prefect day for peeper retrieval in Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario. Jiying helped geochemist Dr. Stefan Markovic retrieve peepers and process porewater samples, part of a research project in the Dittrich Biogeochemistry Team led by Dr. Stefan Markovic and Dr. Phuong Doan. Read more about their work in Bay of Quinte

09.01.2016 -- Jiying Joined Dittrich's Biogeochemistry and Geomicrobiology Lab at the University of Toronto Scarborough as a postdoc fellow, embarking on a new journey to study microbiology!

08.19.2016 -- Jiying arrived in Toronto, impressed by the dynamics and diversity of the city, excited about her new life here!

11.19.2015 -- Thanks to the weather's cooperation enabling a successful day of water sampling at Deer Creek, a tributary to Susquehanna River, part of a research project led by soil scientist Dr. Dengjun Wang to investigate phosphorus sources and speciations in suspended particles of different size fractions.

11.15.2015 -- Jiying presented at the 2015 SSSA Annual Meeting on "Internal cycling of phosphorus in the Chesapeake Bay: Tracing the sources and sinks" in Minneapolis, MN, USA (Abstract, slides).

11.05.2015 -- Our first trip to the Kent County Waste Water Treatment Plant brings back water samples for preliminary analyses, a exciting start of a research project led by our grad student Yuge Bai, using phosphate oxygen isotopes to investigate polyphosphate metabolisms in wastewater sludges. Read more about Yuge's research

11.02.2015 -- Jiying presented at the 2015 GSA Annual Meeting on "Phosphorus cycling in the water column of the Chesapeake Bay: Tracing the sources and sinks" in Baltimore, MD, USA (Abstract, slides).

09.14.2015-09.15.2015 -- The strong nutrient dynamics in the Chesapeake Bay merits our last seasonal sampling trip, as the autumn cooling weakens the water stratification and mixes the nutrient-rich deep waters to the surface. Jiying sampled waters in Chesapeake Bay with the help of scientists from Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in Maryland, typically followed by a whole week of water processing with hands of friends in the Jaisi Lab. This project studies phosphorus sources and internal cycling in the water column of Chesapeake Bay using phosphate oxygen isotopes. Samples are taken from multiple locations and in multiple seasons to investigate both spatial and temporal variability. Read more about our work on Chesapeake Bay

07.06.2015-07.08.2015 -- Our curiosity and eager to learn about Chesapeake Bay is not deterred by the hot sweaty summer and the old-school rusty truck without air conditioner. Jiying sampled about 240 kg of water in Chesapeake Bay with the help of Scientists from DNR Maryland. This project studies phosphorus sources and internal cycling in the Chesapeake Bay using phosphate oxygen isotopes. Read more about our work on Chesapeake Bay

06.14.2015-06.15.2015 -- All felt pleasantly exhausted after a two-day sampling adventure to East Creek, a tributary to Chesapeake Bay, where our grad student and soil scientist Kristi Mingus led the team to sample water, racing the tides on a canoe. Soil samples from surrounding watershed were also collected from farms, forests, stream banks, and wetlands. Kristi's work aims at tracing sources of phosphorous to the Chesapeake Bay from its watershed and tributaries using phosphate oxygen isotopes. Read more about Kristi's work

05.05.2015-05.07.2015 -- As the water warms up in the main stem of Chesapeake Bay after a long chilly spring, the sampling season starts. Jiying sampled waters in Chesapeake Bay with the help of scientists from DNR Maryland. This is a project led by Jiying to study phosphorus sources and internal cycling in the Chesapeake Bay using phosphate oxygen isotopes. Read more about our work on Chesapeake Bay

09.15.2014- 09.17.2014 -- Jiying sampled waters in Chesapeake Bay with the help of Scientists from Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in Maryland. This project studies phosphorus sources and internal cycling in the water column of Chesapeake Bay using phosphate oxygen isotopes. Read more about our work on Chesapeake Bay

09.01.2014 -- Jiying joined Prof. Deb Jaisi's Environmental Biogeochemistry Lab at the University of Delaware, a fresh start embracing the challenges and opportunities to explore phosphate oxygen isotopes as a tool to study phosphorus cycling.

08.13.2014 -- After a wonderful road trip from MN, Jiying arrived in Newark DE with Mom and Dad's accompany and help. New journey starts here in this lovely little town surrounded by park trails and sprinkled with little shops and restaurants (OK, with young enthusiastic college kids marching on their ways to classes, events, and late night parties...).

06.01.2014 -- Jiying successfully defended her Ph.D thesis "Sediment diagenesis in large lakes Superior and Malawi, geochemical cycles and budgets and comparisons to marine sediments" (PDF). What a milestone!