Dr. Denise Akob

Postdoctoral Associate

Contact:

Phone: +49 (0)3641 (9)49448
Email: denise.akob@uni-jena.de
Website: http//www.deniseakob.com

Projects:

- Subsurface Carbon Cycling
- Cold War Geomicrobiology

Education:

2008: Ph.D. Oceanography, “Structure and Function of Microbial Communities Controlling the Fate and Transformation of U(VI) in Radionuclide Contaminated Subsurface Sediments.” Department of Oceanography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. Major Professor: Dr. Joel E. Kostka. Biogeochemical Oceanography.

2002: B.A. Biology, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, USA.

Research Interests

Microorganisms are the unseen majority of organism on our planet but catalyze reactions of global importance, such as nutrient cycling and mitigation of pollutants. As a microbial ecologist and biogeochemist I am interested in linking the structure of microbial communities to their function within an environment. In particular, I study the role of microbes in bioremediation, e.g., the use of biological agents, such as bacteria or plants, to remove or neutralize contaminants, of heavy metal and uranium-contaminated sites such as the Y12 National Security Complex near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Microbes can affect the mobility of heavy metals and radionuclides as a natural adaptation and I am interested in exploiting this ability to provide a cost-effective strategy for the clean up of contaminated sites. To investigate the role of microbes, I combine geochemical methods to observe microbial activity with traditional anaerobic cultivation techniques and molecular biology to identify organisms.

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Dr. Martina Herrmann

Postdoctoral Associate

Contact:

Phone: +49 (0)3641 (9)49451
Email: martina.herrmann@uni-jena.de

Project:

- Nitrogen Cycling

Education:

2003: Sc.D. Biology, University of Hannover, Institute of Geobotany, supervised by Prof. Dr. Richard Pott. "Einfluss der Vegetation auf die Beschaffenheit des oberflächennahen Grundwassers im Bereich von Heide, Wald und landwirtschaftlichen Nutzflächen" (Influence of vegetation on ground water quality within heathland, forest and agricultural areas)

2001: Diploma Biology, University of Hannover, Germany. "Nährstoffdifferenzierungen innerhalb von Heidelandschaften am Beispiel des Naturschutzgebietes Heiliges Meer "Kreis Steinfurt/Westfalen" (Small-scale heterogeneity of plant nutrient availability within a heathland area in the nature reserve "Heiliges Meer" (Westphalia/Germany)

Research Interests

The subject of my research is the microbial ecology of nitrogen cycling in aquatic and terrestrial environments. To get more insight into the microbial communities involved in aerobic and anaerobic nitrogen transformation processes, analysis of spatio-temporal patterns of physico-chemical parameters is combined with the analysis of microbial diversity, abundance, and activity. The oxidation of ammonia to nitrite, the first and rate-limiting step of nitrification, is a key step of aerobic nitrogen transformation processes and is carried out by beta- and gamma-proteobacteria and by crenarchaeota. My research aims at identifying key environmental factors that determine the community structure of ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotes in different environments, such as the water column and sediment of freshwater lakes, groundwater, and peatlands. In particular, I am interested in the ecological role and relevance of bacterial versus archaeal ammonia oxidizers in these environments. A second research topic within the field of nitrogen cycling focuses on the effect of plants on nitrogen cycling in freshwater sediments and peatlands, and how they influence rhizosphere-associated microbial communities involved in aerobic and anaerobic nitrogen transformation processes. Analysis of microbial communities includes methods of molecular microbial ecology such as cloning and sequencing, Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis, and quantitative PCR as well as cultivation-dependent approaches. Rate measurements of nitrogen transformation processes and functional gene expression are used to analyze the activity of the microbial communities.

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Dr. Anna Rusznyák

Scientific Coordinator of the AquaDiv@Jena Project

Contact:

Phone: +49 (0)3641 (9)49451
Email: anna.rusznyak@gmail.com

Project:

- Subsurface Carbon Cycling

Education:

2008: Ph.D. Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Science, Department of Microbiology, Budapest, Hungary. “Diversity investigations on reed biofilm bacterial communities of Hungarian soda lakes”

2003: M.Sc. Microbiology, Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Science, Budapest, Hungary

Research Interests:

As a microbial ecologist I have had the opportunity to study microbial communities in a wide range of environments, including plant-associated biofilms, alkaline waters and sediments, as well as mushroom compost. I am interested in exploration of the diversity and activity of the studied microbiota. Currently, as the scientific coordinator of the AquaDiv@Jena project, I am investigating the effects of aboveground biodiversity on belowground biodiversity and microbial functions in soils and aquifers. In order to gain a detailed insight into the structure and activity of the studied communities, a polyphasic approach is being applied using both cultivation-based and cultivation-independent molecular biological methods.

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Dr. Juanjuan Wang

Postdoctoral Associate

Contact:

Phone: +49 (0)3641 (9)49448
Email: juanjuan.wang@uni-jena.de


Project:

- Aquatic Iron Cycling

Education:

2011: Ph.D. Microbial ecology, Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands institute of Ecology, (NIOO-KNAW)
2005: MSC Biology, Leiden University, the Netherlands.
2003: MSc. Botany, Yangzhou University, China
2000: BA Soil and agrochemistry, Yangzhou University, China

Research Interests:

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