ABOUT

I am a biochemical oceanographer and my lab group studies how the chemical signatures of microorganisms can tell us about the role of microbial physiology and interactions in maintaining stable communities that provide food and a stable climate for all life on earth. We apply mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to a mix of fieldwork and lab studies in diverse environments across the globe. Support for my research comes from the National Science Foundation as well as private foundations and industry. I founded the Microbial Metabolomics Research Center (MMRC) in 2013 to make the tool of metabolomics available to UW researchers studying environmentally relevant microbes. We collaborate on several projects across campus.

My current research projects include:

  1. Cataloging the chemical fingerprint and footprint of marine microbes.

  2. Cataloging the inventory of biochemicals across ocean regimes.

  3. Elucidating the biochemical pathways and annotating genes involved in metabolite flow through microbial communities.

  4. Microbial production, exchange and recycling of B vitamins in the ocean.

  5. Ecophysiology of ammonia oxidizing archaea.

  6. Membrane lipids of archaea and bacteria as tracers of ocean processes and past climate.

  7. Radiocarbon dating as a tool to understand carbon cycle and past Antarctic climate and ice sheet dynamics.

Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION

2002 Ph.D. Coastal Oceanography.

Stony Brook University, Marine Sciences Research Center, Stony Brook, NY.

Dissertation: The Role of Biogenic Carbonate and Silicate in the Preservation of Organic Matter.

1998 M.S. Marine Environmental Science.

Stony Brook University, Marine Sciences Research Center, Stony Brook, NY.

1992 B.A. Chemistry (minor in Biochemistry). Reed College, Portland, OR.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

September 2017 Professor, School of Oceanography, University of Washington

September 2011 Associate Professor, School of Oceanography, University of Washington.

2004-2011 Assistant Professor, School of Oceanography, University of Washington.

2003-2004 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University.

2002 Postdoctoral Fellow, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.

1996-2002 Graduate Research Assistant, Stony Brook University, MSRC.

1992-1995 Research Staff Assistant, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University 1992-1995. Supervisors: Drs. James K. Bishop (1992-1995) and Robert Anderson (1995).

1991 Research Assistant, Reed College. Supervisor: Arthur Glasfeld.

FELLOWSHIPS AND HONORS

AGU Excellence in Refereeing Award for Geophysical Research Letters, 2017.

College of the Environment, University of Washington, Outstanding Researcher. 2017.

SCOPE Investigator, Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology, Simons Foundation, Oct 2014.

Comer Science and Engineering Grant recipient, Jan, 2010 and Sept, 2010.

Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, November, 2009.

Hess Postdoctoral Fellowship (declined). Princeton University. Department of Geosciences. March 2002.

TEACHING

Ocean 295 The Chemistry of Marine Organic Carbon

Ocean 522: Marine Organic Geochemistry

Ocean 201: Introduction to Ocean Lab

Ocean 400: Marine Chemistry

Ocean 497B: Ecosystems and Biogeochemical Cycles