Our research is focused on microbial diversity and function in extreme environments

​ Currently we are involved in several projects:

The McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research Project (MCM LTER) is an interdisciplinary study of the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in a cold desert region of Antarctica.  Initiated in 1993, we have had over 26 field seasons!

Collaborative Research: The role of gut microbiota in supplying amino acids to their mammalian hosts  with Dr. Seth Newsome at UNM and Dr. Marilyn Fogel at UC Riverside 

ANT LIA: Collaborative Research: Genetic underpinnings of microbial interactions in chemically stratified Antarctic lakes with Dr. Brandon Briggs at UA Anchorage and Dr. Rachael Morgan-Kiss at Miami of Ohio University

Testing the drivers and scale-dependency of plant-fungal-bacterial community co-assembly across the Arctic-a project in collaboration with Dr. Lee Taylor at UNM

I am also the Director of the UNM MARC Program, an NIH funded training program for underrepresented undergraduate students interested in biomedical careers

I am always looking for talented, hard-working, and ambitious students to join the lab.  Contact me for more info.