Jeffrey Marlow (he/him)

Microbial communities shape our world in unseen, yet significant ways: they are climate regulators, ecosystem engineers, nutrient recyclers, and rock-builders. The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the detection of previously unknown microbiomes and the description of new lineages, even in the most inhospitable and unexpected of environments. However, efforts to understand their functionality and metabolic activities, – the true impact that microbes have on their surroundings – have simply not kept pace.

Our researchers investigate microbial communities through the lens of metabolic activity: what are they doing, how are they doing it through interspecies interactions and molecular innovation, and what does their collective action mean for our planet? To do so, we develop novel incubation, molecular probing, and microscopy approaches to interrogate microbial assemblages in their natural habitats and native spatial configurations. As we study salt marshes, geothermal sites, and deep-sea methane seeps around the world, we seek to understand how microbe-microbe and microbe-mineral interactions influence metabolic activity.

Given the urgency of the threats posed by global environmental change and the crucial role that environmental microbiomes play in potential regulation and amelioration efforts, we strive to share our findings with a wide audience. To this end, we maintain active projects in science communication, international ocean conservation policy, and science education.

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