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
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 & Technology (2009)
Accurate natural resource damage assessment necessitates monitoring organisms or communities that respond most sensitively to...
Fluorescent Dye Encapsulated ZnO Particles with Cell-Specific Toxicity for Potential Use in Biomedical Applications (with Hua Wang, Denise Wingett, Mark H. Engelhard, K. M. Reddy, Paul Turner, Janet Layne, Cory Hanley, Jason Bell, Dmitri Tenne, Chongmin Wang, and Alex Punnoose), Journal of Materials Science-Materials in Medicine (2009)
Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-encapsulated SiO2 core-shell particles with a nanoscale ZnO finishing layer have been synthesized...