Microorganisms in soil, water and air represent nearly all of the biodiversity on the planet. Known as Earth’s microbiome, they have strong control over climate and biogeochemical cycles. Researching this microbial world helps us better predict the effects of land use and climate change, and laying the groundwork for new environmental biotechnologies.
Our faculty are experts in:
- microbial pathogens and antibiotic resistance in soil and water
- microbial physiology
- multi-omics analysis (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics)
- plant-soil microbial feedbacks
Click the profiles to learn more about who we are and what we research in microbial ecology.
Alicja Babst-Kostecka
Assistant Professor
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Room 312A
Saguaro Hall
1110 E South Campus Drive
My Research Interests
- Plant adaptation to changing environmental conditions
- Metal tolerance and hyperaccumulation
- Plant-soil interactions in metalliferous habitats
- Phytoremediation and restoration of arid lands
Degrees
- Ph.D in Biology (Genetics of Populations & Evolutionary Ecology), Institute of Botany Polish Academy of Sciences
Luisa Ikner
Assistant Professor
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Room 1112C
Water & Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center
2959 Calle Agua Nueva
Tucson, AZ 85745
Teaching:
- Pollution Science (ENVS 305)
- Environmental Microbiology Laboratory (ENVS 426/526)
My Research Interests:
- Antimicrobial effectiveness
- Best practices for effective research partnerships
- Emerging bacterial and viral pathogens (BSL-2, BSL-3)
- Microbial decay/removal in natural and human-made systems
- Method development/optimization
- Pandemic preparedness
- Pathogen detection in water
- Wastewater treatment and advanced water purification
Degrees
- PhD in Soil, Water and Environmental Science from the University of Arizona
- I focus on multi-omnics analysis (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics) and plant-soil microbial feedbacks in our work on in microbial ecology.
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Explore my other areas of research:
- I focus on plant-soil microbial feedbacks in our work on in microbial ecology.
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Explore my other areas of research:
- I focus on microbial physiology and multi-omnics analysis (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics) in our work on in microbial ecology.
-
Explore my other areas of research:
- I focus on microbial pathogens and antibiotic resistance in soil and water in our work on in microbial ecology.
-
Explore my other areas of research:
- I focus on microbial physiology; multi-omnics analysis (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics); and plant-soil microbial feedbacks in our work on in microbial ecology.
-
Explore my other areas of research:
- I focus on microbial pathogens and antibiotic resistance in soil and water in our work on in microbial ecology.
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Explore my other areas of research:
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Find out about my work in extension and outreach:
Julie Neilson
Full Research Professor
Director, Maier Lab
Director, Center for Environmentally Sustainable Mining
- I focus on microbial physiology; multi-omnics analysis (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics); and plant-soil microbial feedbacks in our work on in microbial ecology.
-
Explore my other areas of research:
- I focus on microbial physiology; microbial pathogens and antibiotic resistance in soil and water; and multi-omnics analysis (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics) in our work on in microbial ecology.
-
Explore my other areas of research:
- I focus on microbial pathogens and antibiotic resistance in soil and water in our work on in microbial ecology.
-
Explore my other areas of research:
-
Find out about my work in extension and outreach:
- I focus on microbial physiology and multi-omnics analysis (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics) in our work on in microbial ecology.
-
Explore my other areas of research: