Xiaozhen (Jen) Mou

Current Research

Research in Mou lab focuses on linking bacterial phylogeny with their metabolic functions in natural aquatic environments. This direct linkage is important to understand fundamental questions in an ecological/environmental context, such as the role of bacteria in biogeochemical cycling of essential nutrients, e.g., carbon, nitrogen and sulfur. Experimental metagenomics and metatranscriptomics coupled with bioinformatics are employed as the core approach to simultaneously identify the taxonomic diversity, genetic capability, and metabolic activity of selected taxonomic and functional groups of aquatic bacteria. Other advanced molecular biology techniques, such as  qPCR, RT-PCR, CARD-FISH, and flow cytometry (FACS), and cultivation-based studies, such as whole genome microarray, are also regularly employed. Specific research interests and ongoing projects in Mou Lab include:

• Bacterial transformation of dissolved organic nitrogen (polyamines) in marine and freshwater environments.
• Bacterially mediated N removal (denitrification and anammox) in marine and freshwater environments.
• Role of heterotrophic bacteria in detoxifying cyanotoxins synthesized during cyanobacterial harmful Algal Blooms (CyanoHABs) in Lake Erie and other inland freshwater lakes.
• Ecological genomics of individual bacterial taxa in marine and freshwater systems.
• Linkage of biogeochemical cycling of organic carbon and nitrogen between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
• Culturing aquatic actinobacteria and screening their functions in toxin degradation and potential medical uses.
• Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) impacts to freshwater microbial ecology
• Monitoring coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater

More details of my research please visit Mou lab 

Courses 

• Microbial Ecology
• Marine Biology
• General Microbiology
• Basic Microbiology
• Writing In Biological Sciences
• Biodiversity
• Individual Investigation
• ST: Ecological Genomics
• ST: Ecological and Evolutionary Genetics
• Climate Change Biology