Karen Lloyd

In the Lloyd lab, we work on determining the carbon and energy sources for the vast uncharacterized majority of subsurface microorganisms in hydrothermal vents/springs, cold methane seeps, deep oceanic sediments, coastal estuaries and bays, and subduction zones.

By coupling phylogenetic and functional information from RNA, DNA, proteins, and metabolites in whole natural samples, single microbial cells, and laboratory mesocosms to geochemical parameters, we can link uncharacterized groups of organisms to their environmental functions. We are particularly focused on transformations of organic matter and C1 compounds in the deep marine subsurface.

Our field work is in Costa Rica, Panama, Argentina, Chile, the Baltic Sea, North Carolina, Svalbard, Siberia, and Mariana Trench Seamounts.