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Drew Gorman-Lewis, Phd
Drew Gorman-Lewis, Phd
Geochemist and Cat Lover
Geochemist and Cat Lover
About drew
About drew
Image courtesy of Drew Gorman-Lewis
Dr. Drew Gorman-Lewis is a scientist from Eugene, Oregon. He is a professor and researcher at the University of Washington’s College of the Environment. Growing up, Dr. Gorman-Lewis was always interested in how things worked. He liked to take things apart, but often wouldn’t be able to put them back together so his mother started taking him to Goodwill to buy electronics that were already broken. That curiosity served him well in high school and he really enjoyed Chemistry and Physics, but he also loved language. He intended to study French and Spanish in college, but those classes were full his first semester so he signed up for Chemistry and Geology instead--the rest is history! When Drew isn't working, he likes to golf and spend time with his two cats, Remy and Magnus.
How did he know he wanted to be a scientist?
How did he know he wanted to be a scientist?
"I realized I wanted to be a scientist when I was doing undergraduate research. Before that experience, I never even considered being a scientist but once I started doing research I realized I could be a scientist. I love my job because I get to solve scientific mysteries and work with students while doing it."
What does Drew study?
What does Drew study?
Dr. Gorman-Lewis is a biogeochemist--his field is at the intersection of biology, geology, and chemistry. He studies things like how chemicals from mining and other human activities act in the environment, and how they affect things like water quality (chemistry), the soil (geology), and microbial communities (biology). He’s also interested in how organisms, particularly microbes (organisms that are too tiny to see without a microscope) have adapted to live in extremely harsh chemical and physical environments (environments with low amounts of helpful chemicals or high amounts of harmful chemicals, or are very hot or very cold).
Image courtesy of Drew Gorman-Lewis
In his words: Overcoming obstacles
In his words: Overcoming obstacles
"Numerous times during my undergraduate and graduate degrees there were academic people (e.g., advisors, faculty, etc.) who would warn me that the path I had contained a lot of math and that was going to be very difficult. Now, these people hadn't seen my transcripts and had no idea what math I had taken or what my grades were. The saw what I looked like and made assumptions. My grades in math were just fine to excellent, and I knew that. I didn't let their prejudice sow seeds of doubt in my mind about what I could do."
Drew's research
Drew's research
Recently, Drew carried out a study investigating the adaptations of a certain type of microorganism in a group called “archaea” (pronounced: are-key-uh). Archaea is a large group of tiny organisms that is similar to bacteria in some ways like size and shape, but different in others--many of its processes, like DNA replication, are actually much more similar to those of multicellular organisms (like humans, fish, or bugs). Many archaea are what are called "extremophiles", because they are able to survive in, and even "prefer" conditions that are hotter, colder, saltier, more acidic, more basic, etc than other organisms. It's worth noting, however, that not all extremophiles are archaea, and not all archaea are extremophiles. Archaea are found pretty much everywhere, from lakes, rivers, and soil to everyday household surfaces!
The type of archaea Drew was studying are called "thermoacidophiles" because they grow in hot, acidic conditions. Those kinds of environments can be found in places like Yellowstone National Park where hot springs are produced by the emergence of heated groundwater that rises from the Earth's crust.
An example of of a hot spring where archaea might be found.
Image credit: Rennett Stowe / flickrThe thermoacidophile that Drew studied is called Acidianus ambivalens, and it can “eat”, or oxidize, sulfur and turn it into sulfuric acid, which the kind of acid found in car batteries (and acid mine drainage!). Just like humans need oxygen to get energy out of our food, this microbe needs oxygen to eat sulfur. However, while we tend to need lots of oxygen to do this (think about how tired we feel at high altitudes where there is less oxygen in the air!), it turns out that this microbe can “eat” sulfur more efficiently when there is less oxygen around.
That may seem like a contradiction but oxygen as a chemical is good at "ripping apart" molecular bonds and "stealing" electrons, and this can be very damaging to living things that aren't adapted to live in oxygen-rich environments. While this isn't a problem for humans and other animals, Acidianus ambivalens has a more complicated relationship with oxygen. It needs oxygen to get energy from sulfur, but some molecules in its cell are very sensitive to oxygen's destructive nature and when more of it is around then the cells have to use more energy for constant repair. Energy spent repairing cells is less energy that can be used to make new cells. Drew believes that it is important to understand how much energy microorganisms like Acidianus ambivalens need on Earth and the kinds of conditions under which they thrive because it helps guide our search for life on other planets with extremely harsh conditions.
Interested in a STEM Career? Here's some advice from Drew:
Interested in a STEM Career? Here's some advice from Drew:
"Find your passion. Read and get involved in lots of different STEM stuff so you can really figure out what excites you the most. It's easier to be motivated to succeed at something when it intrinsically excites you."
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