As a microbiologist I am fascinated by the sheer diversity of micro-organisms that inhabit nearly every part of the Earth (including all “higher” life-forms). These microscopic cells have an outsized influence on their environment and our well-being. My research focuses on combining molecular sequencing techniques and computational analysis thereof with “classical” culture-based microbiology to gain insight into how micro-organisms (bacteria and archaea, specifically) shape, and are shaped by, their environments.

During my PhD track at the University of Amsterdam I worked on Thioalkalivibrio, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria that live in soda lakes (highly saline, alkaline lakes), focusing on the metabolism of the unusual substrate thiocyanate (NCS^-). As a side project I worked on the characterization of “Candidatus Achromatium palustre”, a species of large sulfur bacteria whose cells contain crystalline calcium carbonate to protect them from the sulfuric acid that is produced as the end product of sulfide oxidation. 

During my postdoc at Radboud University Nijmegen my interest shifted to the other end of the pH scale, and to the oxidation of geothermally produced gases (especially the potent greenhouse gas methane) in the fumaroles on the island of Pantalleria, Italy. Studying the metabolism of the thermoacidiphilic methane oxidizer “Candidatus Methyacidiphilum fumariolicum SolV” led to an enduring curiosity for the role of lanthanide metals in biology. During my years at Radboud, I had the opportunity to contribute my expertise to the projects of many PhD candidates and postdocs. From this I learned how much of the joy I find in doing research is derived from collaborating with others in the scientific community.

I joined the department of physical geography at UU as part of the CLIMET project, a consortium project that involves researchers from UU, Radboud University and the Netherlands Institute for Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) aimed at uncovering the driving forces of microbial methane cycling in Arctic lakes. Within CLIMET I am developing the sedimentary ancient DNA research line, where we will use information on past microbiomes and climate events contained in deep sediment cores to help us interpret measurements of contemporary microbial communities and to improve predictions of future methane emissions from these lakes.