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Michael Wilkins

Michael Wilkins

Michael Wilkins

Adjunct Assistant Professor

wilkins.231@osu.edu

Areas of Expertise

  • Geomicrobiology

Education

  • University of Manchester, UK 2005

Research in the Wilkins lab focuses on interactions between microorganisms and their local environment. Microorganisms can catalyze a huge range of reactions, many of which directly or indirectly affect the chemistry and physical structure of the region they inhabit. We currently study some of these processes in a variety of different environments, with links to contaminant remediation (e.g. uranium), elemental cycling (carbon, sulfur), and hydrocarbon degradation (e.g. deep shale formations). Current field sites include shallow aquifers in Washington State and Colorado, prairie pothole lakes in North Dakota, and deep subsurface shale formations in southeastern Ohio. In the laboratory we use a suite of tools that span the disciplines of microbiology, geochemistry, and mineralogy. Genomic and proteomic tools are used to interrogate microbial communities, with these data subsequently interpreted in the context of geochemical measurements from the environment.
 

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