My research interests are in the areas of anaerobic hydrocarbon metabolism, microbial genomics and the microbial ecology of hydrocarbon-impacted environments. In these areas, I am taking a systems biology approach to answer important questions about the genetics and physiology of anaerobic hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms and their role in environmental systems via metabolite profiling, microcosm studies, and “omics”-based methods (i.e. genomics, metagenomics, proteomics and transcriptomics). More specifically, my research aims to elucidate the mechanisms of anaerobic alkane activation and degradation, identify the requisite genes involved in these processes, apply whole-genome and metagenome analysis to anaerobic alkane-degrading isolates and enrichment cultures, and examine community structure and function with respect to biotechnology/bioremediation and energy recovery
