Dr. Gilbert is a Professor at UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Department of Pediatrics, Associate Vice Chancellor for Marine Science, and Director of the UCSD Microbiome and Metagenomics Center. Dr. Gilbert is a microbial ecologist applying microbial metagenomics and metatranscriptomics to test fundamental hypotheses. He has authored over 400 peer-reviewed publications on microbial ecology. He brings extensive experience to large, coordinated microbiome sampling, processing, and analysis efforts. His research focuses on microbial ecology in human and environmental health and disease, and he has led the intellectual development of numerous microbiome-associated research programs, including the Earth Microbiome Project. Dr. Gilbert has published more than 100 peer reviewed papers focused on soil microbial ecology and agricultural practice, and he is dedicated to research focused on improving the climate resiliency of global soil systems. Lab Website.

Dr. Lihini Aluwihare is a Professor of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry and the SIO Department Chair. She studies the cycling of carbon and nitrogen in the oceans using light isotope tools and organic matter chemical characterization. Her work revolves around trying to read the messages encoded in molecules that maintain microbial life, facilitate ecosystem interactions, and contribute to long-term carbon and nutrient storage. Lab website.

Dr. Steven Briggs is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. The Briggs Lab seeks to understand how microbial biostimulants exert their effects on hybrid crops. More specifically, they will study the differential effects of plant-associated microbial biostimulants on the performance of hybrid crops relative to their inbred parents. Hybrid crops were invented 100 years ago and today they dominate the agricultural landscape. Hybrids are more stress tolerant and they possess greater intrinsic potential for growth and yield of harvested material such as grain. The host microbiome can stimulate hybrid vigor in maize. Benefits of hybridization are also seen with animals and many livestock species have been converted to hybrids because of their greater health under both good and stressful conditions. Plant breeders have made dramatic gains in the yields of hybrid crops. Interestingly, those gains are due to increasing tolerance of planting density such that per plant yields are maintained even when crowding many more plants into the same acre of land. The amount of hybrid vigor (also known as heterosis) has not been affected by plant breeding. Research will focus on the microbiome-associated increase in heterosis that has been observed in maize. The long-term goal is to open a new avenue to increase hybrid performance based on enhanced heterosis, which would complement the non-heterotic increases in yield that have been provided by plant breeding. Lab Website.

Dr. Jazz Dickinson is an Assistant Professor in Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. The Dickinson lab works at the intersection of plant biology and chemistry to understand how small molecules pattern developmental decisions and to discover nature-based solutions that support plant growth. Her lab applies high spatial resolution metabolomics, chemical genetics, and molecular biology to uncover novel signaling pathways in the Arabidopsis root meristem. Their approach leverages the natural chemistry of stress-resilient plants to harness growth and improve stress resilience in crops. Lab Website.

Dr. Jackrel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution at UCSD. The Jackrel Lab studies variation within species of plants and algae that regulate key components of the carbon cycle – decomposition and primary productivity. For our work on decomposition, we study how herbivore and pathogen pressures shape the defensive chemistry of trees, and the subsequent effects of these shifts in defensive chemistry on microbial decomposer communities inhabiting soils, lakes and rivers. We also study how bacterial decomposer communities and populations adjust and evolve to the defensive chemistry of plants. For our work on primary productivity, we study how the algal-associated microbiome regulates algal growth and what algal traits shape the assembly, structure and function of their microbiome. Lab Website.

Dr. Morgan Levy is an Assistant Professor with a split appointment between the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the School of Global Policy and Strategy. Her research focuses on understanding interactions between the hydroclimate, terrestrial water systems, and environmental and human health at local to global scales. Levy’s areas of expertise include physical hydrology and ecohydrology; environmental and earth system science; and applied statistics, including spatiotemporal data analysis and modeling. Lab Website.

Dr. Amina Schartup is an Associate Professor of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry at SIO. Her research focuses on the intersection of trace metals biogeochemistry, and environmental and human health, exploring the pathways through which toxic metals like mercury, released by human activities, enter food webs and affect consumers. Prior to joining SIO, Schartup was a Research Associate at Harvard's School of Public Health and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and served as a 2017-2019 AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the NSF's Office of Polar Programs–Arctic Section, where she contributed to developing ethical research guidelines for conducting research in the Arctic. Lab Website.

Guillaume is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at UC San Diego. He received his B.S. in Genetics from UC Davis and PhD in Molecular Biology from UCLA. His lab applies spatial metagenomics and metabolic modeling to study how microbial communities are assembled in their natural environments. Lab website.