About:

Curriculum Vitae

2011 - present  PhD at Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (Texel, Netherlands)

                           ‘Compound specific hydrogen isotopes as indicator of core metabolisms of microorganisms''

2004 - 2010      Diplom in Biology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Germany)

                           ‘Screening of enzymes and enzymatic activity in microbial communities in methane-seep-habitats’

2008 - 2009      Visiting student, University of Helsinki (Finland)

Research Interest

Geomicrobiology, microbial ecology, marine microbiology

PhD Project

‘Compound specific hydrogen isotopes as indicator of core metabolisms of benthic microorganisms in the Wadden Sea’

In this project we will develop, test and apply compound specific hydrogen isotopes as a novel tool to establish the core metabolisms of benthic marine microorganisms. For this, different organisms with different core metabolisms and the same organisms expressing different metabolisms need to be cultivated and the hydrogen isotopic composition of their lipids will be analyzed. This will be used to link microorganisms to a core metabolism in situ. The hydrogen isotopic composition of general lipids, such as short chain fatty acids, will be analyzed to be able to assess the dominant core metabolism(s) of whole microbial communities in environmental samples. Besides different metabolisms, the effects of other environmental factors need to be evaluated as well, as they may also impact D/H fractionation. This hydrogen isotope method for establishing core metabolisms in environmental samples will be compared with results obtained from stable isotope labeling of lipids and DNA to study microbial activity in Wadden Sea sediments.

People involved: S. Heinzelmann (Ph.D student), Dr. M.T.J. van der Meer, Prof. Dr. J.S. Sinninghe Damsté, Prof. Dr. S. Schouten (promotor)

Funding: NIOZ

Publications

Wrede, C.; Brady, S.; Rockstroh, S.; Dreier, A.; Kokoschka, S.; Heinzelmann, S.M.; Heller, C.; Reitner, J.; Taviani, M.; Daniel, R.; Hoppert, M. (2011), Aerobic and anaerobic methane oxidation in terrestrial mud volcanoes in the Northern Apennines, Sedimentary Geology, 263-264, 210-219

Posters

Heinzelmann, S.M.; Bale, N.J.; Hopmans, E.C.; Villanueva, L.; Sinninghe Damste, J.S.; Schouten, S.; van der Meer, M.T.J.: ‘Compound specific hydrogen isotopes as indicator of core metabolisms of microorganisms in the Wadden and North Sea: Testing the separation of intact polar lipids in ‘Glycolipid’ and ‘Phospholipid’ fractions; 25^th International Meeting on Organic Geochemistry (2011), Interlaken, Switzerland

Heinzelmann, S.M.; Bale, N.J.; Hopmans, E.C.; Villanueva, L.; Sinninghe Damste, J.S.; Schouten, S.; van der Meer, M.T.J.: ‘Compound specific hydrogen isotopes as indicator of core metabolisms of microorganisms in the Wadden and North Sea: Testing the separation of intact polar lipids in ‘Glycolipid’ and ‘Phospholipid’; Studium Conferences “Hydrogen isotopes as environmental recorders: from water to sedimentary”, 2011, Orleans, France

Talks

Heinzelmann, S.M.; Bale, N.J.; Villanueva, L.; Sinninghe Damste, J.S.; Schouten, S.; van der Meer, M.T.J.: ‘Compound specific hydrogen isotopes as a culture independent method to identify core metabolisms of microorganisms in situ; ASLO 2013 Aquatic Sciences Meeting (2013) New Orleans, United States

Attended Courses

11/2012           International Course in Methods in Microbial Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy

08/2011           Aquatic Microbial and Molecular Ecology, University of SouthernDenmark, Odense, Denmark

06/2011           MATLAB Fundamentals training, NIOZ, Texel, Netherlands

02/2011           NEBROC/ECOLMAS Course Molecular Organic Biogeochemistry, NIOZ, Texel, The Netherlands