Current Lab Members
Djuna Gulliver
Education:
B.S. Chemical Engineering – University of Minnesota
B.S. Geology and Geophysics – University of Minnesota
M.S. Environmental Engineering – Johns Hopkins University
Ph.D Environmental Engineering – Carnegie Mellon University
Bio:
Djuna is a federal research at NETL with an expertise in geomicrobiology of energy and energy-impacted environments. She received her doctorate at Carnegie Mellon University in 2014.
What I do at NETL:
I currently oversee projects that analyze the microbial communities in various systems, such as carbon storage reservoirs, shale gas reservoirs, acid mine drainage, and coalbed methane reservoirs. I also oversees projects that develop biological technologies to upgrade unused resources (such as CO2, syngas, or unminable coal) into value-added products. My lab utilizes next generation sequencing coupled with bioinformatic analysis to characterize the abundant microbial taxonomy, potential metabolic capability, and microbial activity of these natural and engineered systems.
NETL STEM Careers – Djuna Gulliver
Email: djuna.gulliver@netl.doe.gov
Dan Ross
Education:
B.S. Biochemistry/Cell Biology – Bucknell University
Ph.D Biochemistry/Microbiology/Molecular Biology – Pennsylvania State University
Bio:
Dan is a federal contract researcher with over 10 years of experience in anaerobic microbiology, biochemistry, and bioelectrochemistry.
What I do at NETL:
I plan and execute experimental procedures to examine microbial communities from energy impacted environments using anaerobic microbiology, next-generation sequencing, bioinformatics, and electrochemistry. I am currently investigating biological carbon upgrading using both electrochemical and anaerobic reactors. I am also constantly developing our bioinformatics capabilities at NETL for metagenome analyses.
Email: daniel.ross@netl.doe.gov
Kara Tinker
Education:
B.S. Microbiology and Biochemistry – North Carolina State University
Ph.D Microbiology – University of Georgia
Bio:
Kara is a microbial ecologist with experience integrating molecular biology, computational, and statistical methods to study complex microbial communities in a variety of environments. She received her doctorate from the University of Georgia in 2018 and is currently an ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Energy Technology Lab in Pittsburgh, PA.
What I do at NETL:
I am currently characterizing the microbiology of shale environments, including the Permian and Bakken Shale Formations. I utilize qPCR, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and metagenomics in conjunction with bioinformatic techniques to identify key microbial taxa, evaluate the metabolic potential of the resident microbial community, and to understand the microbial dynamics present in subsurface environments.
Website: https://www.karaanntinker.com/
Twitter: karaanntinker
Email: kara.tinker@netl.doe.gov
Meghan Brandi
Education:
B.S. Geology – University of Pittsburgh
Bio:
I grew up in western Pennsylvania. I was a Mickey Leland scholar in 2015 at NETL Albany, and returned to NETL in 2018 as an ORISE in Pittsburgh.
What I do at NETL:
I primarily work performing SEM-EDS analysis of various materials, including cements, metals, and biological material. I also use image analysis software to segment images and approximately quantify various characteristics of a material, such as porosity. Additionally, I have been working with Dan Ross performing anaerobic culturing to develop a biocatalyst capable of CO2 upgrading.
Email: meghan.brandi@netl.doe.gov
Preom Sarkar
Education:
B.S. Bioengineering – Lehigh University 2018
M.S. Environmental Engineering – Carnegie Mellon University 2019
Bio:
Preom considers herself a Bioenvironmental Engineer. Her main interests lie within using biology and nature to solve global issues. At NETL she has been able to utilize both her degrees with her work at the lab.
What I do at NETL:
At NETL I have been working on helping my lab mates characterize microbial ecology from a various environments. I also have my own project regarding the wastewater management for flue gas desulfurization systems. This project requires me to culture anaerobic organisms for further classification.
Email: preom.sarkar@netl.doe.gov
Instagram: pleasantscience
Samuel Flett
Education:
B.S. Wildlife Conservation – Virginia Polytechnic Institution
Bio:
Sam originally became interested in microbiology as an undergraduate in a wildlife disease ecology lab working to identify phenotypic antimicrobial resistance of diarrheal diseases such as E. coli and Campylobacter jejuni. After graduating, he decided to pursue a microbiology career independent of wildlife and learned about the Geomicrobiology Team at the National Energy Technology Laboratory through Dr. Tinker via Science Twitter. Eventually, he applied and was accepted as a fellow with the Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (ORISE).
What I do at NETL:
At NETL, I am a bit of a floater! I work with Dan Ross on our CO Upgrading project, while also helping out Kara and Preom processing samples through techniques such as 16S sequencing, PCR, qPCR, DNA extractions, and more! I’ve gained invaluable experience in writing, scientific techniques, and overall understanding of microbiology and biochemistry as fields.
Twitter: @samoiogy
Email: Sammy.flett@gmail.com
Sierra McDermott
Education:
B.S. Environmental Biology – Black Hills State College.
What I do at NETL:
Sierra works with Dr. Kara Tinker and Dr. Djuna Gulliver to complete PCR, ddPCR, and DNA sequencing to better understand the microbiology in energy and energy storage reservoirs. Additionally, Sierra assesses the geochemistry through ion chromatography and total organic carbon which work to correlate environmental conditions on the natural microbial community.
Rowan Terra
Education:
B.S. in Biological Sciences – University of Pittsburgh
M.A.T. in Science Education – University of Pittsburgh
Current Ph.D. in Biology Student – Duquesne University
Bio:
Rowan is a Ph.D. student at Duquesne University operating through an ORISE fellowship with the Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory. They have academic research experience spanning multiple subfields within biology and chemistry, in addition to professional work within industrial biotechnology and educational arenas.
What I do at NETL:
Rowan is currently working on characterizing microbial communities found at abandoned coal mine drainage remediation sites and the oxidation and reduction of elements contained within them. Rowan is interested in pursuing future work focusing on metabolic pathways associated with the redox of specific elements and possible computer science applications to more easily evaluate environmental redox potentials in the field.
Email: rowan.terra@netl.doe.gov
Hannah Schweitzer
Education:
B.S. Biology & Biomathematics – Trinity University (2012)
Ph.D. Microbiology – Montana State University (2019)
Bio:
Hannah is a microbial ecologists trained in activity based and molecular approaches to better understand microbial interactions and their impact on the carbon cycle.
What I do at NETL:
Hannah is an ORISE Fellow. Her current work at NETL involved compiling molecular and chemical abundance data from produced water sites around the United States. The compiled data is being built into a publicly available database that can be used for future comparisons, examination and network analysis of other produced water and subsurface sites.
Anna Vietmeier
Education:
B.S. Biological Sciences – Youngstown State University (2013)
M.S. Biological Sciences – Youngstown State University (2019)
Ph.D. Biological Sciences – Duquesne University (tentatively 2024)
Bio:
Anna is a first-generation college student, entering the 5th year of her PhD program. Her research is centered on the microbial interactions in abandoned mine drainage for improved bioremediation and biomining. Anna’s research has been supported by the National Association of State Land Reclamationists and the Geological Society of America through the National Science Foundation. Anna is a Future Leaders Fellow with the American Society of Microbiology, received Duquesne University Biology Department’s Bayer Fellowship, and is an ORISE Fellow with NETL. Anna hopes to continue in research as a postdoc after earning her doctorate (tentatively) next summer 2024.
What I do at NETL:
I work with Dr. Djuna Gulliver’s laboratory to explore the utilization of microbes, specifically bacteria, for biomining of rare earth elements. To do this, I isolate and identify bacteria that perform specific metabolic processes for further characterization to understand how this function is performed, using traditional microbiological techniques and microbial genetics.
Email: anna.vietmeier@NETL.DOE.GOV
Twitter: @VietmeierAnna
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-vietmeier-7b897589/
Former NETL Geomicrobiology Lab Members
Brooke Stemple
Daniel Lipus
Joe Moore
