Research team expertise

I study electron conduction in cable bacteria.

Technique

Raman, Cryo-EM, ToF-SIMS

Users

Researchers

Keywords

Microbiology, Bacteria, Sediments

Limiting global warming will require not only reducing emissions but also actively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. My research focuses on mineral-based ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), a carbon dioxide removal strategy that increases surface seawater alkalinity through the addition of various reactive minerals. This process enhances the ocean’s natural capacity to absorb and store atmospheric CO₂. I experimentally evaluate the efficiency and ecological safety of various candidate materials, including natural minerals (e.g., olivine, iron oxides, mussel shells) and industrial byproducts (e.g., steel slags, kiln dusts), to assess their potential for safe and scalable application in OAE.

Technique

My research employs a wide range of methods and techniques. For chemical analyses, I use sample acid digestion for ICP-OES/MS, scanning electron microscopy, total alkalinity titrations, and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) measurements. In addition, I carry out porewater extractions, sediment core incubations, and mesocosm and flume experiments, complemented by geochemical modeling in PHREEQC and R. To study ecological effects, I apply toxicity testing, biomarker assays, and bioirrigation measurements with fluorescent tracers. Furthermore, I have experience with active biomonitoring to evaluate biological responses under field conditions.

Users

This expertise is relevant for research institutions, government agencies, industry, NGOs, and international initiatives involved in climate mitigation, ocean research, and environmental management. It can support studies on CO₂ removal, ocean alkalinity, ecological safety of minerals and industrial byproducts, policy development, monitoring, and sustainable valorization of residual streams.

Keywords

Ecotoxicology, Biogeochemistry, Climate mitigation, Ocean alkalinity enhancement

Mass spectrometry, metabolomics and proteomics method development on new biology of cable bacteria

Technique

Proteomics, Metabolomics, Python programming

Users

Academic researchers

Keywords

Proteomics, Mass spectrometry, Metabolomics

To determine electric interactions between cable bacteria and associated bacteria, light microscopy and more advanced microscopy types such as Electron- and Raman microscopy will be used combined with molecular techniques such as isolation of bacteria, DNA and RNA followed by next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics analyses of this data to determine presence of electroactivity and proteins/genes associated with extra-cellular electron exchange. Cable bacteria and their environment will be manipulated during these experiments on microscopy-sized microcosms. Sampling trips for sediment collection and determination of presence/absence of cable bacteria and electroactivity will be determined through microsensor profiling for O2, pH, EP and H2S (both in the field and in the lab).

Technique

Light- Electron- and Raman microscopy are used to observe and follow the relationship between cable bacteria and their bacterial associates in fine detail. Molecular techniques will be used for isolating bacteria, and extracting, preparing DNA/RNA for sequencing. Bioinformatics will be used to determine what happens in the DNA/RNA.

Users

My work is located in the Electromicrobiology niche with a focus on interactions between species in an ecological (natural) setting. For that a wide array of techniques is often used.

Keywords

Microscopy, Cultivation, Molecular techniques

Marine microbiology and biogeochemistry. Oceanography. Climate change and global change. Citizen science.

Technique

Microscopic imaging of microorganisms (classical, epifluorescence, SEM, AFM).Raman and XAS spectroscopy of microorganisms. Molecular biology of marine microorganisms. Analytical chemistry of surface waters (nutrients, metals, pH, CO2 en alkalinity). Solid phase analysis of aquatic sediments. Microsensor profiling of aquatic sediments (O2, pH, H2S, EP). Biogeochemical modelling of aquatic sediments.

Users

We provide a services in microscopic imaging of microbes and other biological organisms (classical, epifluorescence, scanning electron, atomic force) and in analytical chemistry (microsensor profiling, porewater and solid phase analysis) to colleague scientists and industrial end-users.

Keywords

Microbial electricity, Marine biology, Microbiology, Biogeochemistry, Climate change

The multicellular chains naturally formed by cable bacteria conduct electricity at levels beyond the norm for biology. My research involves elucidating the biosynthesis and self-assembling mechanism of the conductive metal cofactor of cable bacteria.

Technique

Electrical characterization using a bipotentiostat, voltage sweep and impedance spectroscopy. Biomolecular separation and purification techniques as well as molecular biology to isolate different cable bacteria components responsible for the synthesis and scaffolding of the conductive metallic cofactor. Electron microscopy imaging of bacterial membrane.

Users

Groups with interest in conductive biologically derived materials, marine sediment ecology, or biotechnology and synthetic biology.

Keywords

Molecular biophysics, Electron microscopy, Bacterial ecology, Charge transporting materials

Comparative Genomics, Phylogenomics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Evolutionary Bioinformatics.

Technique

Sequence similarity searches, comparative genomics, (multiple) sequence alignments, phylogenies, synteny analyses, protein structure prediction.

Users

Scientistw, general public, biotechnological applications.

Keywords

Bioinformatics, Genome analysis, Phylogeny, Genomics, Functional genomics, Phylogenomics

Focussing on the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, iron and sulfur, I study the past and present ocean, using a research approach that combines field work and laboratory incubations with numerical modeling at the local, regional and global scales. Specific topics are the importance of burrowing fauna for cycling of carbon, iron and sulfur in the Earth System, spatial patterns of redox conditions and nutrient availability in low-oxygen oceans, and the impact of anthropogenic sediment disturbances on the coastal carbon cycle. Through this work I aim to improve our understanding of the Earth’s evolution and to provide new insights into the links between life and its geochemical environment.

Technique

Chemical measurements, radio-isotope tracers, numerical modelling.

Users

policy, scientists, ...

Keywords

Ecosystem function, Theoretical study, Experimental study