Research
The group's research focus is on the development and application of integrated mass spectrometry tools to map and understand chemical exchange in complex biological systems
Functional Metabolomics
Microbiome Model Systems
We work on the integration of different functional metabolomics approaches, using native mass spectrometry, bioactivity-based techniques, and chemical reactivity into our non-targeted metabolomics pipeline. This allows for the direct investigation of binding behavior (e.g., with proteins or metals), and bioactivity (e.g., antimicrbial properties) of small molecules from complex samples.
To better understand the influence of small molecules onto microbial communities we work on the development of scalable co-culture systems and synthetic microbial communities, from different environmental systems, plants, and humans.
Marine Microbial Communities and Dissolved Organic Matter
Plant-Microbe Interactions
Marine microbial communities are of fundamental importance for global planetary process and offer an tremendous potential of chemical and bio-active novelty. At the same time, the community metabolome of marine ecosystems, a.k.a. the dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool, is one of the most complex and challenging samples for non-targeted mass spectrometry. The lab actively contributes to the development of new methods to unravel the chemical composition of DOM and its microbial rework in the global carbon cycle.
Plant-microbe interactions are a fascinating systems of chemical interactions and offer huge potential for establishing sustainable agriculture. We are investigating plant microbe and microbe-microbe chemical exchange in different plant, such as melons, tomatoes, corn, sugar cane, and arabidopsis.