Dr. Lauren Manck
Assistant Professor
Specialties
Biochemistry
Chemical Oceanography
Biochemistry
Chemical Oceanography
Education
Postdoctoral Fellow, Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, 2020-2025
Ph.D. Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, 2020
B.S. Chemistry, Calvin College, 2012
Office: 180-417
Phone: 805-756-1869
Email: lmanck@calpoly.edu
Research Interests
Microbes carry out many metabolic functions that are the primary drivers of elemental cycles in the marine environment including photosynthesis, respiration, and nitrogen fixation. Many of these metabolic pathways require trace metals, such as iron, as enzymatic cofactors, yet low concentrations of these elements in seawater mean that they are often a limiting nutrient of these fundamental life processes. As such, the availability of bioactive trace metals can fundamentally shape marine microbial communities and the large-scale cycling of carbon and other macronutrients. Both field- and lab-based research in our lab focuses on understanding molecular pathways that marine microorganisms use to acquire nutrients like iron, carbon, and nitrogen using a wide variety of biochemical, molecular biology, and analytical chemistry techniques.
Microbes carry out many metabolic functions that are the primary drivers of elemental cycles in the marine environment including photosynthesis, respiration, and nitrogen fixation. Many of these metabolic pathways require trace metals, such as iron, as enzymatic cofactors, yet low concentrations of these elements in seawater mean that they are often a limiting nutrient of these fundamental life processes. As such, the availability of bioactive trace metals can fundamentally shape marine microbial communities and the large-scale cycling of carbon and other macronutrients. Both field- and lab-based research in our lab focuses on understanding molecular pathways that marine microorganisms use to acquire nutrients like iron, carbon, and nitrogen using a wide variety of biochemical, molecular biology, and analytical chemistry techniques.
