Dunfield Lab

Our lab works at the intersection of microbiology, ecology, and soil science, to investigate the microbial communities and microbial processes driving the global processes that help support life on Earth.

Microbes play key roles in health, food security, and industry, and drive the global processes that support life on Earth. We work at the forefront of an intensely dynamic field of research, studying the microbiome in the environment, with particular emphasis on the soil microbiome.

Soils are on the front line of global environmental change; over 95% of the world’s food is produced in soil and the world’s topsoil contains 3 times more carbon as the entire atmosphere.  Soil disturbance has caused significant loss of arable land, and is a major contributor to global GHG emissions.  Protecting soil resources is a defining issue of our time, but solutions are complex and require an integrated cross-disciplinary approach. Any solution will also require that we leverage the best and brightest minds, and this can only happen in an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment.