Dr. Cox's research focuses on proteins, the genome products of microbes, and their interactions with major and minor element cycles, both modern and ancient. She combines geochemistry with biochemistry to determine active mechanisms of chemical reactions with wide application to the environment. Her research integrates proteomic techniques and geochemical context in environmental samples to determine what is actively happening in the environment at a given time and place under the set of conditions present, as well as providing a framework for how life has evolved in coordination with Earth in the past. To interrogate interactions between biomolecules and the environment, she uses a combination of laboratory experiments, field investigations, and model calculations. Lab-based approaches include nutrient limitation and stress experiments, while field-based analyses include rock-dependent geochemical gradients and biological rate experiments. Ultimately, her research results will supply a theoretical, analytical, and experimental framework to explain and predict energy cycling between the biotic and abiotic processes of Earth. She works with a wide variety of systems, including terrestrial hot springs, alpine lakes and springs, marine realms, serpentinizing systems, acid mine drainage, and deep life environments.
