Looking for advice on research ideas or career paths? Find a mentor!
APECS mentors in Microbial Ecology include:
- Dr. Dolors Vaqué studies polar viruses at the Institut de Ciències del Mar in Barcelona and aims to isolate and identify viruses infecting marine microorganisms to understand viral diversity and host range specificity.
- Postdoc Eric Collins studies bacterial and archaeal evolution at McMaster University and has interests in astrobiology and sea ice ecosystems.
- Dr. Donatella de Pascale studies the evolution of psychrophily at the National Research Council in Naples, Italy with particular interests in Antarctic microorganisms with potential biotechnological applications.
- Dr. Bruno Danis enables biodiversity research at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences with bioinformatics techniques, with particular emphases on Antarctic systems.
- Professor Liane Benning studies geochemical reaction mechanisms at the University of Leeds and is interested in life in extreme environments and astrobiology.
- Professor Ross Virginia studies soil ecosystems in extreme environments, is Director of the Institute of Arctic Studies at Dartmouth College, and has led field expeditions at both poles.
- Professor Gary Laursen is a mycologist from the University of Alaska Fairbanks who combines lab research in genomics, phylogeography, systematics, taxonomy, and ecology with extensive Arctic field experience.
- Dr. Josef Elster is a microalgae ecologist and physiologist from the University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic, with extensive field experience, having participated in more than 20 polar expeditions.
- Postdoc Eva Leu studies phytoplankton at The University Centre in Svalbard with particular emphasis on the effect of light and climate on primary production at low temperature.
- Assistant Professor Rachael Morga-Kiss studies extremophilic photoautotrophic microorganisms at Miami University, with long term interests in developing high resolution ecological models of microbial environmental adaptation.
- Associate Professor Pedro Cid-Aguero studies biofuel production in cold climates at the University of Magallanes in Chile, and has visited Antarctica to investigate microalgae.
For more information and contact information for these and other mentors, visit the mentors page.