Microbial Ecology is an incredibly diverse field that explores the roles of microbial community metabolism in the natural environment, areas contaminated by human activity, industrial settings, the human body, and applications in biotechnology. Dr. Feris’ research focuses on the application of the tools and understanding of microbial ecology to enhance our ability to utilize the metabolism of microorganisms for a variety of applications, including natural resource damage assessment, alternative energy generation, bioremediation, and biotechnology.
Research Publications and Presentations
Persistent Metal Contamination Limits Lotic Ecosystem Heterotrophic Metabolism after More Than 100 Years of Exposure: A Novel Application of the Resazurin Resorufin Smart Tracer (with Daniel Stanaway, Roy Haggerty, Shawn Benner, and Alejandro Flores), Environmental Science & Technology (2012)
Persistent stress from anthropogenic metal deposition in lotic ecosystems is a global concern. This long-term...
Relative Strengths of Relationships Between Plant, Microbial, and Environmental Parameters in Heavy-Metal Contaminated Floodplain Soil (with Philip W. Ramsey, Sean M. Gibbons, Peter Rice, Daniel L. Mummey, Johnnie N. Moore, Matthias C. Rillig, and James E. Gannon), Pedobiologia (2012)
We used a combination of sampling and statistical approaches to investigate the relative influence of...
Use of Microcalorimetry to Determine the Costs and Benefits to Pseudomonas putida Strain KT2440 of Harboring Cadmium Efflux Genes (with Sean M. Gibbons, Michele A. McGuirl, Sergio E. Morales, Anu Hynninen, Philip W. Ramsey, and James E. Gannon), Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2011)
A novel microcalorimetric approach was used to analyze the responses of a metal-tolerant soil bacterium...
Electrostatic Interactions Affect Nanoparticle-Mediated Toxicity to Gram-Negative Bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, Langmuir (2010)
Nanoscale materials can have cytotoxic effects. Here we present the first combined empirical and theoretical...
Hyporheic Microbial Community Development Is a Sensitive Indicator of Metal Contamination (with Philip W. Ramsey, Sean M. Gibbons, Chris Frazar, Matthias C. Rillig, Johnnie N. Moore, James E. Gannon, and William E. Holben), Environmental Science and Technology (2009)
Accurate natural resource damage assessment necessitates monitoring organisms or communities that respond most sensitively to...
In the News
Powering the Future: Boise State Researchers Address Energy Challenges, Explore: The Research Magazine of Boise State University (2012)
It may be smelly and gooey, but cow manure has its upside. Dr. Kevin Feris...