Biography

Gianna Marschmann is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Ecology Department of Berkeley Lab’s Earth and Environmental Sciences Area (EESA), where she currently serves as the Early Career representative for the Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division. Her work is part of the LLNL Soil Microbiome Scientific Focus Area (SFA) – Microbes Persists: Systems Biology of the Soil Microbiome. She is a lead developer in the Department of Energy Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase) collaboration – Towards quantitative theory-based predictions of soil microbial fitness, interaction and function in KBase. She obtained her Ph. D. from the University of Hohenheim in Germany, after having completed a research exchange program with the Ecohydrology Research Group at the University of Waterloo in Canada.

Dr. Marschmann is a biogeophysicist who works at the interface between Biosciences and Earth and Environmental Sciences at LBNL. Her research is focused on understanding complex soil-plant-microbe-mineral interactions and scaling up this understanding using theory-based approaches, iterative model-experiment (ModEx) development, and machine learning (ML) for improved representation of biological and biogeochemical processes at the ecosystem level (EcoSIM), as well as integration of comprehensive genome-enabled processes into agricultural management practices. Her research interests are continuously expanding with new opportunities and collaborations. She collaborates with various experts on topics ranging from the fundamental Rules of Life governing biological systems to nature-based solutions for carbon dioxide removal (CDR), as well as ARPA-E technology for biofuel production in agroecosystems.

Dr. Marschmann is enthusiastic about teaching the younger generation to use computational toolsets for plant-soil-microbe modeling. She has guest lectured at UC Berkeley and the University of Kentucky, and believes in creating equal opportunity through the UC Berkeley Rausser College SPUR program and UAW Local 5810.