Research Interests
I study microbial ecosystems in (extreme) natural environments to gain insight into the interplay of microbes and their geochemical surroundings. I combine the insights gained from fieldwork and bioinformatics to inform laboratory enrichment experiments. My current work focuses on the microbial communities at a hydrothermal vent field in Pescadero Basin in the Gulf of California, and at hypersaline Mono Lake.
Selected Awards
NWO Rubicon Postdoctoral Fellowship; Texaco Postdoctoral Fellowship; Westerdijk Award for best microbiology thesis in The Netherlands, section Microbial ecology