Environmental Microbiology

Environmental Microbiology focuses on microbial properties and processes that define the structure and function of natural and man-made ecosystems. Since the flow of energy and matter through the environment is often governed by microbial activities, it is essential to understand, predict and leverage them, to both address and avoid environmental problems. Water is a key media through which energy and elements are transported within and between ecosystems, and it is also a conduit for the transport of anthropogenic materials and waste. Because microorganisms are the primary living constituents of aquatic ecosystems and mediate globally important processes, we focus on environmental microbiology. The foundation of our studies is grounded in microbial physiology, ecology, evolution and environmental science and engineering.

This program emphasizes Ph.D. level research.

Faculty

Eric Alm, Associate Professor (Joint with the Department of Biological Engineering)
Sallie W. Chisholm, Professor (Joint with the Department of Biology)
Ed DeLong, Professor (Joint with the Department of Biological Engineering)
Martin Polz, Professor
Roman Stocker, Associate Professor
Janelle Thompson, Assistant Professor

Representative Research Areas

  • Metagenomics of microbial populations and the structure of ecosystems
  • Integrative systems biology using model microbes
  • Experimental metagenomics, transcriptomics and proteomics
  • Modes of energy and materials' transformations in microbes and their applications to bioengineering
  • Life at low Reynolds numbers-microbial interactions
  • Role of microbes in subsurface geochemistry
  • Microbes as models for biological and evolutionary processes
  • Population genomics of prokaryotes in the oceans
  • Ecological determinants of pathogenicity in microbes

Collaborative Arenas

Many faculty and students in the Environmental Biology group are affiliated with programs both within and outside MIT. For instance, group faculty play an active role in the MIT/Woods Hole Joint Program in Oceanography, which offers graduate degrees in all aspects of oceanographic science and engineering, including physics, biology, chemistry, geology and engineering. Students interested in environmental science as related to the ocean may want to consider applying to that program.

Other projects at MIT involved collaboration with the Departments of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences; Chemical Engineering; Biology; and Chemistry. Members of the faculty are also involved in MIT's Center for Global Change Science, Graduate Ph.D. Program in Microbiology and Earth System Initiative.

For more information about research in Environmental Microbiology, visit Research Projects for RAs.