Home

The REBEL Lab applies molecular biotechnology to address current challenges in the field of environmental engineering. My overarching goals are to assess microbial genetic adaptation to environmental stressors in both natural and engineered systems as well as to annotate and manipulate the dynamics that exist between microbial communities and their environments. We use an interdisciplinary approach rooted in applied microbiology, molecular biology, and engineering to accomplish these goals. We employ fundamental biological concepts to study how anthropogenic activity impacts the adaptation and function of microbiomes and apply this information to develop microbiological interventions for ecological restoration (e.g., precision bioremediation) as well as diagnostic tools for assessing ecological dysbiosis (e.g., microbiome stress and adaptation). Our core research focuses on:

• • The environmental fate of genetic biotechnology including engineered DNA and RNAi constructs used in agriculture
  • Assessing environmental microbiome structural and functional fingerprints within engineered and environmental systems
  • Improving the sustainability of water and wastewater treatment by manipulating microbiome interactions
  • Applying emerging environmental biotechnology for in situ applications in water treatment, ecosystem sustainability, and bioremediation