PhD defence Sabine K. Lengger

Sabine Lengger will defend her thesis on 11^th July at 12.45 hours at Utrecht University.
The title of her thesis is: 

"Production and preservation of archaeal glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers as intact polar lipids in marine sediments: Implications for their use in microbial ecology and TEX₈₆ paleothermometry"

Dr. ir. Ellen C. Hopmans receives a grant for new HPLC-MS

20/3/2013

Dr. Ir. Ellen C. Hopmans achieved a grant for a high resolution/accurate mass liquid chromatography/mass spectrometer to study the origin and fate of lipids in the marine environment
The study of biomarker lipids has been proven to be a successful approach for the elucidation of the role of micro-organisms in key processes in e.g. the carbon and nitrogen cycles in the marine environment, and has been instrumental for paleo-climate research. At Royal NIOZ, we have made significant advances in the analysis and structural elucidations of highly functionalized and high molecular weight lipids in algae, bacteria, archaea, marine water and sediments using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to advanced mass spectrometry (MS). These advancements have led to the development of several widely used proxies for paleo-temperature reconstructions and have provided new insights in microbes involved in different biogeochemical cycles. Our current and future lines of research, however, are now increasingly having technical demands that are beyond the technique and capacity of our current HPLC/MS equipment, blocking further breakthroughs in these rapidly expanding research areas. We therefore apply for the purchase of a state-of-the-art quadrupole-orbitrap HPLC/MS offering high resolution and accurate mass capacity, which will substantially boost our analytical capabilities and open up new research avenues. The quadrupole-orbitrap LC/MS will be used to study the full diversity of marine lipids and specifically lipids of ammonia oxidizing Thaumarchaeota, of bacteria capable of oxidizing ammonia anaerobically (anammox), of nitrogen fixing heterocystous cyanobacteria, and of soil and freshwater bacteria. The purchase of such equipment will allow us to maintain the forefront position of the Royal NIOZ in HPLC/MS research in Earth and Life sciences.

PhD defence Petra Schoon

Petra Schoon will defend her thesis on 3^rd April at 14.30 hours at Utrecht University.
The title of her thesis is:

"Impact of CO2  and pH on the stable carbon isotopic composition and distribution of microbial biomarker lipids."

PhD defence Raquel Lopes dos Santos

On 17th December at 12.45 hours, Raquel Lopes dos Santos will defend her PhD thesis at Utrecht University. Her thesis is titled:

'Reconstruction of late Quaternary marine and terrestrial environmental conditions of Northwest Africa and Southeast Australia: A multiple organic proxy study using marine sediments.'

PhD defence Darci Rush

On 3rd December at 14.30 hours, Darci Rush will defend her PhD thesis at Utrecht University. Her thesis is titled: 

'Ladderanes as tracers of present and past anaerobic ammonium oxidation.'