Principal Investigator
Eric Boyd
Research Professors
John Dore
Focus: Geobiology
Dan Colman
Focus: High temperature ecosystems
Postdoctoral Scholars
Devon Payne
Focus: Iron Sulfur Cluster Biosynthesis in Methanogens
Email: devon.payne@student.montana.edu
Manjinder Kour
Focus: Computational and Surface Chemistry of Iron Sulfur Nanoparticles
Md Gahinger Alam
Focus: Trace Metal Acquisition in Methanogens
Email: alam.micro14@gmail.com
Hunter Dulay
Focus: Biomining of Trace Metals from Complex Minerals
Email: michael.dulay@montana.edu
Doctoral Students
Maria Clara Fernandes-Martins
Focus: Co-evolution of thermoacidophiles and their acidic habitats
Email: marie27fm@gmail.com
Lisa Keller
Focus: Tectonic influences on hot spring biodiversity
Email: lkeller02@gmail.com
Ana Menchaca
Focus: Life in the subsurface of Yellowstone
Email: asimenchaca@gmail.com
Su Cosar
Focus: Metal acquisition in anaerobic methanogens
Email: sumelisacosar@gmail.com
Erica Antill
Focus: Life detection in Enceledus plume analog environments
Email: erica.antill@googlemail.com
Alexis McDonnell
Focus: Microbial adaptations to cold, icy brines
Email: alexis.mcdonnell@montana.edu
Research Personnel
Undergraduates
Honorary Field Assistants
Blue
Focus: Peak Summiting and Ball Fetching
Current Position: Boyd Household
Ida
Focus: Tail Wagging and Swimming
Current Position: Boyd Household
Rio
Focus: Quantitative Analysis of the Yellowstone Snowpack
Current Position: Colman Household
Falco
Focus: Retrieval of Spherical Objects and Authentication of Game Trails
Current Position: Payne Household
Denver
Focus: Being Awesome
Current Position: Payne Household
Blue Berrymore
Focus: Scent Analyses of Atmospheric Compounds
Current Position: Payne Household
Luna
Focus: Chief of Security of the Surrounding Environment
Current Position: Fernandes-Martins Household
Astro
Focus: Intergalatic Explorer in Training
Current Position: Fernandes-Martins Household
Pepper
Focus: Toy Durability Testing
Current Position: Keller Household
Dex
Focus: Food Quality Inspector and Precision Meal Timing
Current Position: Antill Household
Alumni
Rachel Spietz (Research Professor)
Focus: Iron sulfur acquisition and trafficking in primitive Archaea
Hannah Mavis (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Methanogens and minerals
Current Position: Undergraduate researcher in the Priscu Group at MSU
Japhanna Burns (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Nitrogen Fixation in Thermophiles
Current Position: Intern at the University of Montana
Rudi Lien (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Dolomite formation in hypersaline brines
Current Position: Undergraduate student at Montana State University
Matt Selensky (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Thermal microbial ecology
Current Position: Graduate Student at Northwestern University
Evan Bilbrey (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Mineral-supported hydrogenotrophs
Current Position: Research Intern at Flathead Lake Biological Station
Rachel Johnston (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Ecosystem dynamics of Great Salt Lake
Current Position: Dogsled Guide at Turning Heads Kennel
Anna Mounsey (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Microbial activities in serpentinized fluids
Current Position: Undergraduate at Montana State University
Kirina Amada (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Subglacial geochemical cycling
Current Position: Unknown
Maximiliano Amenabar (Ph.D., 2018)
Focus: Thermoacidophiles
Melody Lindsay (Ph.D., 2019)
Focus: Molecular Microbiology and Extreme Environments
Saroj Poudel (Ph.D., 2018)
Focus: Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology
Erik Anderson (M.S., 2017)
Focus: Soil Microbial Communities
Current Position: USDA Forest Service
Matthew Urschel (Ph.D., 2016)
Focus: Pathways of Carbon Metabolism in Hot Spring Populations and Communities
Current Position: Postdoc at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Jayme Feyhl-Buska (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Acclimitization of Archaeal Membranes to Energy Stress
Current Position: PhD student at University of Southern California
Zoë Harrold (Postdoctoral Scholar)
Focus: Pyrite Oxidation in Subglacial Ecosystems
Current Position: Postdoc at UNLV
Drew Dyson (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Extremophile molecular biology
Current Position: Unknown
Jakob Sax (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Extremophile metabolisms
Current Position: Unknown
Kaitlin Wilkins (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Hydrogen metabolizing thermophiles
Current Position: Unknown
Ticha Padgett-Stewart (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Cultivation of subsurface organisms
Current Position: Unknown
Ezgi Cetin (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Deep sea sediment microorganisms
Current Position: Unknown
Annette Harnish (Undergraduate Scholar)
Focus: Cultivation of novel thermophilic archaea
Current Position: Unknown
Professor
Email: eric.boyd@montana.edu
Research Professors
Focus: Geobiology
Email: jdore@montana.edu
Focus: High temperature ecosystems
Email: drcolman1@gmail.com
Postdoctoral Scholars
Focus: Iron Sulfur Cluster Biosynthesis in Methanogens
Email: devon.payne@student.montana.edu
Focus: Computational and Surface Chemistry of Iron Sulfur Nanoparticles
Email: manjinderkour1992@gmail.com
Focus: Trace Metal Acquisition in Methanogens
Email: alam.micro14@gmail.com
Focus: Biomining of Trace Metals from Complex Minerals
Email: michael.dulay@montana.edu
Doctoral Students
Focus: Co-evolution of thermoacidophiles and their acidic habitats
Email: marie27fm@gmail.com
Focus: Tectonic influences on hot spring biodiversity
Email: lkeller02@gmail.com
Focus: Life in the subsurface of Yellowstone
Email: asimenchaca@gmail.com
Focus: Metal acquisition in anaerobic methanogens
Email: sumelisacosar@gmail.com
Focus: Life detection in Enceledus plume analog environments
Email: erica.antill@googlemail.com
Focus: Microbial adaptations to cold, icy brines
Email: alexis.mcdonnell@montana.edu
Research Personnel
Undergraduates
Honorary Field Assistants
Focus: Peak Summiting and Ball Fetching
Current Position: Boyd Household
Focus: Tail Wagging and Swimming
Current Position: Boyd Household
Focus: Quantitative Analysis of the Yellowstone Snowpack
Current Position: Colman Household
Focus: Retrieval of Spherical Objects and Authentication of Game Trails
Current Position: Payne Household
Focus: Being Awesome
Current Position: Payne Household
Focus: Scent Analyses of Atmospheric Compounds
Current Position: Payne Household
Focus: Chief of Security of the Surrounding Environment
Current Position: Fernandes-Martins Household
Focus: Intergalatic Explorer in Training
Current Position: Fernandes-Martins Household
Focus: Toy Durability Testing
Current Position: Keller Household
Focus: Food Quality Inspector and Precision Meal Timing
Current Position: Antill Household
Alumni
Focus: Iron sulfur acquisition and trafficking in primitive Archaea
Current Position:
Focus: Methanogens and minerals
Current Position: Undergraduate researcher in the Priscu Group at MSU
Focus: Nitrogen Fixation in Thermophiles
Current Position: Intern at the University of Montana
Focus: Dolomite formation in hypersaline brines
Current Position: Undergraduate student at Montana State University
Focus: Thermal microbial ecology
Current Position: Graduate Student at Northwestern University
Focus: Mineral-supported hydrogenotrophs
Current Position: Research Intern at Flathead Lake Biological Station
Focus: Ecosystem dynamics of Great Salt Lake
Current Position: Dogsled Guide at Turning Heads Kennel
Focus: Microbial activities in serpentinized fluids
Current Position: Undergraduate at Montana State University
Focus: Subglacial geochemical cycling
Current Position: Unknown
Focus: Thermoacidophiles
Current Position:
Focus: Molecular Microbiology and Extreme Environments
Current Position: Postdoctoral researcher at Bigelow Laboratories
Focus: Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology
Current Position: Postdoctoral researcher at Rutgers University
Focus: Soil Microbial Communities
Current Position: USDA Forest Service
Focus: Pathways of Carbon Metabolism in Hot Spring Populations and Communities
Current Position: Postdoc at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Focus: Acclimitization of Archaeal Membranes to Energy Stress
Current Position: PhD student at University of Southern California
Focus: Pyrite Oxidation in Subglacial Ecosystems
Current Position: Postdoc at UNLV
Focus: Extremophile molecular biology
Current Position: Unknown
Focus: Extremophile metabolisms
Current Position: Unknown
Focus: Hydrogen metabolizing thermophiles
Current Position: Unknown
Focus: Cultivation of subsurface organisms
Current Position: Unknown
Focus: Deep sea sediment microorganisms
Current Position: Unknown
Focus: Cultivation of novel thermophilic archaea
Current Position: Unknown