School of Biological Sciences

My research is directed toward understanding ecological adaptation of microorganism populations.

My work interest is orientated on microbial diversity and ecological function for microbes playing fundamental processes in the global biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen. I am currently more focused on microorganisms (both archaea and bacteria) implicated in the ammonia oxidation process.

My fundamental aims are to determine the environmental factors controlling their community structure and diversity and to understand their physiological and evolutionary adaptation.

Research areas

• Long-term evolution of Thaumarchaeota

• Ecology and physiology of archaeal nitrifiers

• Cultivation of Thaumarchaeota

• Metagenomics of uncultivated archaea