2026 Internship Opportunities

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is produced and consumed by microbes that thrive only in environments where oxygen is either very depleted or absent. Therefore, we were surprised to find that both of these processes could be measured in the oxygenated surface ocean! We are now pursuing the question of what kind of microbes are respiring nitrous oxide under these conditions. Isolates will be obtained by rigorous stepwise enrichment and testing for the capacity for nitrous oxide respiration. We have one set of isolates already purified from the Pacific Ocean and another set of enrichment cultures underway from the Atlantic. These cultures will be characterized in terms of 1) their metabolic repertoire as evident in their genomes and 2) their growth under various levels of oxygen and nitrous oxide and different organic compounds.

The Intern will grow the bacterial cultures on plates and in liquid culture, assessing their growth rates and measuring nitrous oxide consumption using gas chromatography and isotope ratio mass spectrometry. They will help plan incubation experiments to determine the metabolic capabilities of the isolates, sample the cultures over time courses, and compare growth rates within and among cultures under various nutrient and gas conditions.

The intern will learn about the metabolism of denitrifying bacteria and alternative respiratory pathways by reading relevant scientific papers and participating in lab group meetings. Technical expertise will be acquired, including gas transfer techniques using syringes in bottles and anaerobic chambers, using sterile technique, measuring nitrous oxide on the ECD Gas Chromatograph, performing nutrient analyses using UV/Vis spectrophotometry and fluorometry, running the mass spectrometer for high precision measurements of the amount and isotopic composition of nitrous oxide and dinitrogen gas. Computational and plotting skills including Excel and R as appropriate for the task will be developed.

Introductory biology and chemistry

Basic computer skills, introductory level laboratory skills

Students should provide their own laptop

• Students will meet with internship mentors in the spring, prior to the internship start date. Reading materials may also be provided.
• Students are responsible for securing accommodations for the duration of their internship. On-campus summer housing is typically available the first week of June until the first week of August (details to become available in Spring 2026). If the internship falls outside of on-campus housing availability, students will need to secure alternate housing.