Dr Julie Huber Deep Sea Microbiologist Microbial Communities Discussion

You will then compose a response answering the following questions:

1. How does Dr. Huber describe her interactions with other scientists? (at least 150 words)
2. What did you learn from Dr. Huber’s research on microbial communities? (at least 150 words)
3. In at least 100 words, respond to two other student’s posts.

Scientist Spotlight: Dr. Julie Huber, Deep sea microbiologist

Dr. Julie Huber is an oceanographer by training and is broadly interested in how basic earth processes- rocks forming, fluids moving, sediments accumulating- interact to create and maintain life in the oceans. Her research addresses some of the most central questions about the nature and extent of life on Earth in one of its least explored corners, the subseafloor habitat beneath the ocean floor. Her focus is on microorganisms, who for more than three billion years have served as engines of Earth’s biosphere, driving essential biogeochemical cycles that shape planetary habitability. Huber investigates subseafloor microbial communities to resolve the extent, function, evolutionary dynamics, and biogeochemical implications of this relatively unexplored ecosystem. The questions her work addresses are universal for understanding the impact of microbial life on both human and planetary health and the selective forces that continue to allow life to establish, thrive, and diversify on Earth.

Huber received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 2004 and came to the Marine Biological Laboratory in 2005 as a National Research Council NASA Astrobiology Institute Postdoctoral Fellow. In 2007, she received the L’Oréal USA Fellowship for Women in Science and joined the faculty at MBL in the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, where she currently serves as Associate Director. She is also the Associate Director of the NSF Science and Technology Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI), whose mission is to explore life beneath the seafloor and make transformative discoveries that advance science, benefit society, and inform and inspire the general public about discoveries in ocean sciences and related disciplines.

Read about Dr. Huber here (Links to an external site.). Watch a video of her describing her research.

Hear about Dr. Huber’s work by clicking here. (Links to an external site.)

Then review one of Dr. Huber’s journal articles by following this (Links to an external site.) link (note: don’t attempt to understand every biology term, just try to find the main themes of the paper, and remember to look up any terms you are not familiar with).

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