My research interests include systems biology of microbial communities and roles of nutrient trace metals in microbial interactions. My current projects involve both algal-bacterial interactions in open algal biofuel ponds and trace metal nutrition in nitrogen fixing consortia. For my post-doctoral work, I was part of a project investigating energy flow in cyanobacterial microbial mats and understanding secreted protein signatures in these complex communities. I am interested in how microbes, photoautotrophs in particular, play a role in transforming their environment and responding to change. I am also interested in integrating data using ‘omics techniques (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics), classic genetic approaches, stable isotope probing and novel imaging strategies.