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

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

‘Magic Pools’ Approach Accelerates Study of Novel Bacteria

February 28, 2018

This article originally appeared on the website of the Biosciences Area at Berkeley Lab. Several of the diverse microbes used in the study described were isolated from nitrate-contaminated and pristine groundwater wells at Oak-Ridge Field Research Center by a team led by Romy Chakraborty, head of the Ecology Department within the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area…

EESA Research Shows Impact of Environmental Changes on Microbes in Arctic Soils

February 23, 2018

New Berkeley Lab research published in the journal Nature Communications Thursday explores the impact of a changing climate on Arctic ecosystems with permanently frozen soils. As the Arctic continues to warm at about twice the rate of the rest of the world, scientists expect these frozen soils known as permafrost to thaw, activating microbes capable…

EESA Mentoring Program Underway

January 25, 2018

The EESA Mentoring Pilot Program for FY2018 kicked off with two training sessions on January 11 for individuals grouped in pairs of 43 mentors and mentees from our Area who will meet over the next nine months. Mentors learned effective mentoring skills in a morning training with breakout sessions. Mentees gathered in an afternoon training…

EcoSENSE Workshop Draws Participants from All Six Areas of Berkeley Lab

December 14, 2017

More than 75 participants from across all six areas of Berkeley Lab attended a half-day workshop on December 1 to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with ecosystem sensing and characterization. Hosts Eoin Brodie, Senior Scientist, Ecology Department, and research scientist Yuxin Wu, opened the morning workshop with an explanation of the work underway by Lab researchers…