Ecology

Ecology Department photo

Overview

Scientists in the Ecology Department lead development of new technologies to dissect the microbial diversity of complex ecosystems. Their internationally recognized expertise include scale-aware ecology systems, advanced imaging, physiological diversity of microbes, and plant-microbe interactions.

Core Capabilities

Our six core capabilities are:

Advanced Infrared Microscopy and Manipulation
Interactions and Feedbacks between Different Trophic Levels of an Ecosystem
Environmental Microbial Physiology and Biochemistry
Environmental Microbial Genomics and Bioinformatics
Predictive Multiscale Models and Model Data Integration
Soil Biogeochemical Cycling

Advanced Infrared Microscopy and Manipulation

Schematic genome-centric quantitative microbiome analysis — Environmental Microbial Genomics and Bioinformatics

Romy Chakraborty in her research lab — Environmental Microbial Physiology and Biochemistry

Interactions and Feedbacks between Different Trophic Levels of an Ecosystem

Predictive Multiscale Models and Model Data Integration

Nilofer Ahsan

Guest Associate

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-7072
nahsan@lbl.gov

Lisa Alvarez-Cohen

Mechanical Faculty Scientific Engineer

Phone: 510-643-5969
lalvarez-cohen@lbl.gov

Abelardo Arellano

Research Associate

Phone: 510-486-7709
aarellano@lbl.gov

James C. Bartholomew

Guest Senior Scientist

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-5808
jcbartholomew@lbl.gov

Harry R. Beller

Senior Scientist

Phone: 510-486-7321
Fax: 510-486-7152
hrbeller@lbl.gov

Giovanni Birarda

Guest Scientist

Affiliate

Phone: 510-495-2658
gbirarda@lbl.gov

Kathleen A. Bjornstad

Staff Research Associate

Phone: 510-486-7094
kabjornstad@lbl.gov

Nicholas J. Bouskill

Research Scientist

Phone: 510-486-7490
Fax: 510-486-5686
njbouskill@lbl.gov

Eoin Brodie

Terrestrial Microbiologist, Senior Scientist

Deputy Director, Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division

Lead, Environmental & Biological Systems Sciences Program Domain

Phone: 510-486-6584
Fax: 510-486-7152
elbrodie@lbl.gov

Shannon Mieko Brown

Student Assistant

Phone: 714-815-5659
shannonbrown@lbl.gov

Carlo Carraro

Guest Faculty

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-5943

Javier Arturo Ceja Navarro

Research Scientist

Phone: 510-486-7709
jcnavarro@lbl.gov

Romy Chakraborty

Ecology Department Head

Research Scientist

Phone: 510-486-4091
Fax: 510-486-7152
rchakraborty@lbl.gov

Liang Chen

Project Scientist

Phone: 510-495-2658
lchen2@lbl.gov

Yiwei Cheng

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Phone: 510-486-6762
yiweicheng@lbl.gov

Hee Jung Cho

Graduate Student Assistant

Phone: 510-486-6584
heejungcho@lbl.gov

John D. Coates

Senior Faculty Scientist

Phone: 510-643-8455
jdcoates@lbl.gov

Matthew DiTucci

Guest Student Assistant

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-5943
mjditucci@lbl.gov

Ahmed H. Dorrah

Guest Student Assistant
Visiting Researcher

Affiliate

Phone: 510-495-2658
adorrah@lbl.gov

Eric Dubinsky

Guest Scientist

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-5022
eadubinsky@lbl.gov

Gregory Mark Enns

Guest Faculty

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-5943
gmenns@lbl.gov

Yuan Sheng Fang

Graduate Student Research Assistant

Phone: 510-486-5943
michaelfang@lbl.gov

Mary Firestone

Faculty Scientist

Phone: 510-642-3677
mfirestone@lbl.gov

Jil T. Geller

Guest Scientist

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-7321
Fax: 510-486-7079
jtgeller@lbl.gov

Sonali Hande

Guest Technical Associate

Affiliate

Phone: 510-575-4364
shande@lbl.gov

Zhao Hao

Senior Scientific Engineering Associate

Phone: 510-486-7335
zhao@lbl.gov

Terry C. Hazen

Guest Senior Scientist

Affiliate

Phone: 707-631-6763
tchazen@lbl.gov

Elizabeth Holman

Guest Graduate Student Research Assistant

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-5943
eaholman@lbl.gov

Hoi-Ying N. Holman

Senior Staff Scientist

Head, Chemical Ecology

Director, Berkeley Synchrotron Infrared Structural Biology (BSISB) Imaging Program

Phone: 510-486-5943
Fax: 510-486-7152
hyholman@lbl.gov

Ping Hu

Principal Scientific Engineering Associate

Phone: 510-486-5908
phu@lbl.gov

Ulas Karaoz

Research Scientist

Phone: 510-486-4118
ukaraoz@lbl.gov

Eric King

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Phone: 510-486-6162
eking@lbl.gov

Anthony T. Le

Guest Faculty

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-5335
atle@lbl.gov

Eva Lloret-Sevilla

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Phone: 510-495-2430
elloret-sevilla@lbl.gov

Roya Maboudian

Guest Faculty

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-5943
rmaboudian@lbl.gov

Antoine Masson

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Phone: 510-486-7094
Fax: 510-486-5686
amasson@lbl.gov

Arthur Okhtay Montazeri

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Phone: 510-495-2658
amontazeri@lbl.gov

Stephen Morris

Guest Faculty

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-5943
stephenmorris@lbl.gov

Mari Johanna Nyyssonen

Guest Scientist

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-4118
mjnyyssonen@lbl.gov

Alexander Polussa

Student Assistant

Phone: 408-512-0335
apolussa@lbl.gov

Leila Ramanculova

Research Assistant

Phone: 510-486-7709
lramanculova@lbl.gov

Timur Seckin

Guest Student Assistant

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-7709
tseckin@lbl.gov

Whendee L. Silver

Faculty Scientist

Phone: 510-486-6223
wlsilver@lbl.gov

Patrick Oliver Sorensen

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Phone: 510-486-4390
posorensen@lbl.gov

Anna Christine Susa

Guest Student Assistant

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-5943
asusa@lbl.gov

Neslihan Tas

Research Scientist

Phone: 510-486-5538
Fax: 510-486-7152
ntas@lbl.gov

Alexander Thomas

Guest Student Assistant

Affiliate

Phone: 925-296-5781
alexanderthomas@lbl.gov

Tamas Torok

Guest Scientist

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-5808
Fax: 510-486-7152
ttorok@lbl.gov

Patricia M. Valdespino Castillo

Guest Postdoctoral Fellow

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-5943
pmvaldespino@lbl.gov

Jana Voriskova

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Phone: 510-486-4607
jvoriskova@lbl.gov

Shi Wang

Principal Research Associate

Phone: 510-495-2657
shiwang@lbl.gov

Evan R. Williams

Chemist Faculty Scientific Engineer

Phone: 510-643-7161

Xiaoqin Wu

Project Scientist

Phone: 510-486-7515
Fax: 510-486-5686
xiaoqinwu@lbl.gov

Mingqian Xia

Student Assistant

Phone: 510-697-5072
mingqianxia@lbl.gov

Kenneth Charles Zahn

Guest Senior Scientist

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-4436
kczahn@lbl.gov

Carrie Zhang

Student Assistant

Phone: 510-486-4091
carriezhang@lbl.gov

Jizhong Zhou

Visiting Faculty

Phone: 510-486-6223
jzzhou@lbl.gov

News & Events

EESA Women Honored as Women @ The Lab Awardees

June 1, 2018

Three oustanding EESA women were chosen for the 2018 Women @ The Lab awards – Lisa Kelly (EESA Operations Manager); Shi Wang (Principal Research Associate); and Romy Chakraborty (Ecology Department Head). They join an esteemed cohort of 16 women awardees across Berkeley Lab who have made and continue to make significant…

Living Large: Exploration of Diverse Bacteria Signals Big Advance for Gene Function Prediction

This article was authored by Massie S. Ballon for the Joint Genome Institute. Ecology Department Head Romy Chakraborty participated in this research on behalf of EESA. In the air, beneath the ocean’s surface, and on land, microbes are the minute but mighty forces regulating much of the planet’s biogeochemical cycles. To better understand their…

EESA Early Career Researchers Learn What It’s Like Across Berkeley Lab

When not at work researching Arctic permafrost microbes or mountainous watersheds, research scientists Neslihan Taş (above left) and Erica Woodburn (above right) are out and about learning what it’s like across Berkeley Lab with fellow recipients of Early Career research awards from the Department of Energy, Berkeley Lab, and UC Berkeley. In December, Berkeley Lab…

Bhavna Arora Talked Ecohydrology and Watersheds with AGU

May 16, 2018

Bhavna Arora is a research scientist within the Energy Geosciences Division and a member of the Ecohydrological Technical Committee for the American Geophysical Union, which celebrates 100 years in 2018. This week the committee featured a conversation with Arora, wherein she described her study of water resource management and contributions to the Watershed Function Scientific…

Plants Really Do Feed Their Friends

March 22, 2018

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley have discovered that as plants develop they craft their root microbiome, favoring microbes that consume very specific metabolites. Their study could help scientists identify ways to enhance the soil microbiome for improved carbon storage and plant productivity. “For more…

Digging Deep: Harnessing the Power of Soil Microbes for More Sustainable Farming

March 14, 2018

Berkeley Lab’s ‘farm of the future’ project marries microbiology and machine learning