Wilkins, Mike
Geomicrobiology
Associate Professor
C104 Plant Sciences
970-491-3211 office
Bio:
I obtained my Ph.D. at the University of Manchester in the UK, working with Professor Jon Lloyd on microbial interactions with radionuclides in the environment. Recognizing the importance of new ‘omics’ tools in microbiology, I worked with Professor Jill Banfield at UC Berkeley for my postdoctoral research before moving to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA, where I worked as a staff scientist for 4 years. In 2013, I took an assistant professor position at Ohio State University in the School of Earth Sciences. I joined the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University in August 2018.
Research Interests:
Our research group is affiliated with the campus-wide Microbiome Initiative, and broadly focuses on understanding linkages and feedbacks between microbial populations and biogeochemical processes across a range of subsurface systems. Our work encompasses everything from physiological interrogations of microbial pure cultures to multi-omics investigations of microbial assemblages sampled from the field. We couple these microbial analyses to geochemical and hydrologic datasets to enable a more complete understanding of system biogeochemistry. Current research projects include:
- Investigating linkages between seasonal hydrology and biogeochemical processes in upland watersheds, with particular focus on hyporheic ecosystems
- Methylamine cycling catalyzed by microbial consortia in the deep biosphere
- Coupled carbon and sulfur cycling in prairie wetlands
- Influences of microbial metabolism in metal redox cycling in groundwater
Please see my webpage for more information.