Molecular Microbial Ecology

**If you’re interested in joining the Eggleston Lab please email me with your specific research interests, your CV or resume, and your current transcript: eeggleston at middlebury dot edu **

Our research is in the field of molecular microbial ecology, meaning we use molecular biological techniques to ask questions and gain insight into microbial ecology. The lab’s current research is split between two major foci: ecology of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms and T. gondii detection in shellfish. Additionally, we are working to integrate new themes of environmental microbes and social equity. Other recent work includes coral holobiont thermal resilience, and microbial community members involved in mercury methylation in St. Lawrence River wetland sediments.

Dr. Eggleston’s graduate research work had two major foci: respiration in oxygen depleted waters and oceanic viruses.  Most of my work centered around experiments in Chesapeake Bay. I took water samples from deep waters, that experience seasonal anoxia, extracted RNA from these samples, sequenced the mRNA and looked for changes in the microbial population. Additionally, I investigated viruses on a research cruise in the Atlantic Ocean. The overall aim of the research was to characterize deep water dissolved organic matter through a multifaceted research approach utilizing chemical and biological questions and methods.