I am a microbial ecologist interested in deciphering the way in which terrestrial communities of microorganisms, on a micro scale, control the cycling of nutrients on landscape scales. In particular, I focus on anaerobic processes in soil aggregates, biological soil crusts and arthropod guts. In the lab, we use stable isotopes labelling and tracing in combination with classical microbiology and modern omics techniques to identify organisms and community interactions that impact ecosystems. Particular attention is given to processes and effects of interest to society such as the turnover of greenhouse gases and response to stress originating from climate change, or from pollution.
Currently I work as a senior scientist at the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences in České Budějovice. I received my doctoral degree from the Philipp University of Marburg in Germany, after successfully completing a research project at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology under the supervision of Prof. Ralf Conrad. Following my doctorate, I stayed for a brief post-doc period in the group of Prof. Conrad and then moved to a second post-doc position at the University of Vienna. Prior to working in Germany I conducted my academic studies in my home country, Israel. I received a bachelor’s degree in life sciences from the Open University of Israel and a Master’s degree from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
