We harness curiosity, creativity and our scientific training to learn how microorganisms behave and evolve. We ask what microbial communities can teach us about the environment of the early Earth and potential signatures of life on other planets. We collaborate with academics, explorers, industry, citizen scientists, filmmakers, and the press. We use emerging tools from molecular biology, bioinformatics, and geochemistry to carry out experiments in the lab and in the field. We do fieldwork in Appalachia, Spain, Florida, The Bahamas, The Dominican Republic, Italy, and Svalbard.

Current Projects

• Novel metabolisms
• Extreme acid mine drainage in the Iberian Pyrite Belt
• Niche differentiation in sulfur-oxidizing bacteria
• Controls on sulfuric acid speleogenesis
• Microbial biofilms in karst aquifers