NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2014

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NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biology combine research and training components to prepare young scientists for careers in emerging areas where biology intersects with other scientific disciplines, in this case with engineering. The Fellows are expected to lead the nation's scientific workforce of the future. This fellowship to Andrew Russell Babbin investigates the response of marine microbes in low oxygen zones. The host institution is Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the sponsoring scientists are Drs. Roman Stocker and Martin Polz. Marine microbes carry out a variety of biochemical reactions that shape the chemistry of the ocean in which they live. The ocean has many and variable chemical gradients, for example, oxygen minimum zones, each with its own community of marine microbes. The fundamental mechanism by which these microorganisms respond to natural chemical gradients and ephemeral substrate injections to create the observed biogeochemical structure, however, is unknown. This research seeks an understanding of microbial/chemical interactions and global nutrient cycling as a whole by combining laboratory and field experiments. Bacterial metabolism of nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen is being simulated using laboratory microfluidics experiments designed to test how marine microorganisms respond to chemical gradients and interact with their environment. Fieldwork in actual oxygen minimum zones complements the laboratory experiments to develop a high-resolution spatial structure of the microbial community within these zones.The fellowship also offers training in the design and conduct of laboratory experiments that make use of fluid mechanics and microscopy, development of numerical models that replicate microscale biological and physical dynamics, and molecular biology techniques. Educational outreach activities are being conducted through MIT's undergraduate research program and new collaborations with teachers and students at Boston high schools to increase interest in microbial oceanography.