Kendell Newman – Mary Beth Leigh – Professor – University of Alaska Fairbanks

Press

Posted by Kendell Newman On July 28, 2017 July 20, 2021 Filed under Outreach, Press, Research No Comments

Links to recent press and videos featuring our work.

Microbial Worlds. By Emilie Springer. KBBI radio, Homer, Alaska. June 21, 2021.
“Microbial Worlds” blends science, art. By Michael Armstrong. Homer News. June 10, 2021.
The Pollution Plumes of North Pole. By Lois Parshley. Environmental Health News. April 19, 2021.
Long-term Ecological Reflections: Art + Science at Bonanza Creek, Alaska. By Shelley Stonebrook. Terrain.org. May 27, 2020.
Viral Mysteries – discussion with radio journalist Robert Hannon on Northern Soundings and KUAC public radio. April 1, 2020.
Prince William Sound Oil Spill Recovery Institute 20-year retrospective video.
Fairbanks researcher discusses discovery of sulfolane-eating microbe. KTVF Newschannel 11, Jan. 16, 2020.
Finicky Microbes (Highlighting research on sulfolane-biodegrading microbes in the North Pole aquifer). Northern Soundings: Alaska in Conversation, Jan. 14, 2020
UAF researchers discover sulfolane-eating microbe. UAF News and Information, Dec. 13, 2019.
Art, Science, Empathy, Action, Agate, Dec. 15, 2018
Time for Change, HandEye, February 21, 2018
Microbial Worlds interview, readings, and commentary Alaska News Nightly, January 6, 2018
Microbial Worlds: Art of the Microscope – Northern Soundings Interview with Mary Beth Leigh, January 2018
Microbiologist mixes science and art – Fairbanks Daily News Miner, February 13, 2017
Art and science collide in ‘Microbial Worlds’ – The UAF Sun Star, February 12, 2017
Interpreting the Tiny – Fairbanks Daily News Miner, February 12, 2017
Art Exhibit Magnifies the World of Microorganisms – UAF Cornerstone, February 3, 2017
New exhibit explores the world of microbes as a world of art – Fairbanks Daily News Miner, February 1, 2017

Research Overview

Posted by Kendell Newman On July 28, 2017 January 6, 2019 Filed under Research No Comments

The Leigh Lab investigates the role of microorganisms in the biodegradation of environmental contaminants and in biogeochemical cycling. Our research topics include biodegradation of oil and dispersants in Arctic seawater, biodegradation of groundwater contaminants (e.g. sulfolane), the use of plants and microbes to remediate contaminated soils (phytoremediation), methane oxidation in Arctic lakes, and boreal forest ecology. We also organize efforts to foster collaboration between the environmental sciences, arts, and humanities, produces art-science exhibits and performances for the public, and conduct collaborative research on the impacts of these activities on audiences.

Phytoremediation of petroleum-contaminated soils

Posted by Kendell Newman On June 27, 2017 January 6, 2019 Filed under Research No Comments

We’re working to assess the effectiveness and understand the mechanisms underlying phytoremediation (rhizoremediation), the use of plants and associated microbes, for cleanup of petroleum-contaminated soils in Alaska with a focus on rural communities. This includes advanced molecular genetic work on microbial communities, studies of biodegradation processes, plant natural product chemistry, contaminant analyses, and ecological assessments of contaminated sites. We’re also working closely with rural community members to find ways to improve local environmental self-determination, including identifying strategies that foster local engagement, employment, and economic benefit of cleanup activities.

By working closely with regulators (Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation), we initiated a long-term experimental/demonstration site in the rural community of Kaltag, AK, to remediate soil heavily contaminated with diesel that has been relocated from the schoolyard. If successful, this phytoremediation approach may be applied to many other sites across the state.

Funding for this research has been provided by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska INBRE, USGS NIWR, the Czech Ministry of Education, the UAF BLaST Program, and the National Science Foundation.

In a Time of Change: Microbial Worlds

Posted by Kendell Newman On June 27, 2017 January 6, 2019 Filed under Outreach No Comments

In a Time of Change: Microbial Worlds (2015-present).

Thirteen Alaskan artists were competitively selected to participate in monthly lectures, labs, and field trips, including to Bonanza Creek LTER and Toolik Field Station, with the Leigh lab and other microbiologists and ecologists from within and beyond Alaska. Additionally, an artist-in-residence from New York worked at Kevo Subarctic Research Station with our research team in Finland for three field seasons on costume design, dance, videography, and photography. The theme focuses on the many roles of microorganisms in human and environmental health. This exhibit premiered in Fairbanks at Well Street Art Co. in Feb., 2017, toured to Juneau, Anchorage, and Finland in 2017-18, and is scheduled for The Lightwell Gallery at the University of Oklahoma in Nov-Dec 2019 and the Pratt Museum in Homer, AK, in summer 2020.

Learn more about “Microbial Worlds” and explore the artwork at our website.

Oil spills and spill response chemicals in the Alaska marine environment

Posted by Kendell Newman On June 27, 2017 January 6, 2019 Filed under Research

As the risk of oil spills increases in Alaskan waters, there is a growing need to understand the biodegradation of petroleum as well as the fate and effects of oil spill response products. We are conducting laboratory incubation studies using Arctic (Chukchi Sea) and sub-Arctic (Prince William Sound) seawater as well as the Arctic benthos to assess oil degradation rates and to identify microbial taxa important to biodegradation. We are also investigating two spill response products on the National Contingency Plan (NCP) Schedule that are eligible for use in Alaskan waters and elsewhere: the chemical dispersant Corexit 9500A and Oil Spill Eater II (OSEII), a product marketed as an enzymatic biodegradation agent. Our goals include assessing the degradation of the major surfactant components of Corexit 9500A (with collaborator Jennifer Field of Oregon State University) and characterizing the composition and effectiveness of the lesser-known product OSEII. Because spilled oil can also become entrained in sediments, we are investigating the biodegradation of oil under aerobic and anaerobic conditions in Arctic sediment mesocosms as well. Using molecular microbial community analyses (e.g. 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metagenomics, and metatranscriptomics), we are characterizing shifts in community structure following exposure to oil and/or dispersants to identify taxa important to the biodegradation of petroleum and spill response products in the Alaskan marine environment. Through these studies, we aim to provide fundamental insight into Alaskan marine microbial ecology and to provide timely information to regulators, the oil spill response community, industry, and other stakeholders regarding the fate and effects of oil and spill response products in preparation for future oil spills.

These projects are funded by the Oil Spill Recovery Institute (Cordova, AK), Alaska INBRE, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Coastal Marine Institute and previously by private industry (Shell, ConocoPhillips, Statoil, Alaska Clean Seas) and a Fulbright Award to Thailand.

Current research on oil spill response chemicals is in collaboration with Co-PI Dr. Ursel Schuette, Research Scientist, Institute of Arctic Biology, UAF.