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My research centres around the biogeochemical cycling, production and consumption processes, of greenhouse gases. A thorough understanding of the global sources and sinks of these gasses such as CO₂, CH₄ (methane), and N₂O (nitrous oxide) is paramount to an ultimately sustainable use of our environment.

My current project focusses on the microbial consumption of methane. Specifically, this project studies the anaerobic oxidation of methane coupled to denitrification, an only recently discovered process which could be important for both the carbon and nitrogen cycle. Methane globally the second most important greenhouse gas; Present-day freshwater and coastal marine environments are regularly subject to high nitrogen loadings due to the increased use of fertilizers in agriculture.

As a bacterium that can couple methane oxidation to denitrification, named Methylomirabilis oxyfera, was only recently discovered, we still know little about its occurrence in natural and man-made ecosystems. This project investigates the presence and ecological significance of M. oxyfera by examining the lipids produced by these bacteria. Potential characteristic lipids could then be used as biomarkers to trace M. oxyfera-like bacteria in the environment. With the additional use of stable isotope analyses we aim to better understand the pathway of methane assimilation, i.e. how carbon and hydrogen is incorporated into the lipids and microbial biomass of M. oxyfera.