Suzanna L. Bräuer, Ph. D. Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Environmental and Biomolecular Systems OGI School of Science & Engineering, Mail Code OGI 100 Oregon Health & Science University 20000 NW Walker Road Beaverton, Oregon 97006-8921 USA Ph: (503) 748-1978 Fax: (503) 748-1464 E-mail: brauers@ebs.ogi.edu

Research Interests:

I am interested in the role that microorganisms play in the biogeochemical cycling of earth’s elements. My graduate research focused on methane-producing microorganisms in acidic, peat-forming wetlands called bogs. My colleagues and I in the Zinder Lab began by examining the environmental conditions and factors that influence methane production in peat bogs, and have designed a culture medium that mimics the peat environment. This has led us to the isolation of the first acidiphilic methanogen and the first pure culture from an uncultured family in the Methanomicrobiales group that is prevalent in many acidic peat bogs in the Northern Hemisphere. We are currently awaiting genome sequence data from this organism, ‘Candidatus Methanoregula boonei’, from the Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Initiative.

My research in the Tebo Lab focuses on novel reactions among manganese-oxidizing bacteria. I am using a combination of biogeochemical, culturing, molecular and genome-level approaches to investigate the potential for chemolithoautrotrophy (carbon fixation), or anaerobic processes among manganese-oxidizing bacteria.

Education:

Cornell University, Department of Microbiology, Ithaca, NY. Received a Ph. D. 2006.

The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA. Received a Bachelor of Science. 2000.

Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA. Received a Bachelor of Arts in Russian Literature. 1995.

Publications:

Bräuer SL, Yavitt JB, and Zinder SH. 2004. Methanogenesis in McLean Bog, an acidic peat bog in upstate New York: stimulation by H₂/CO₂ in the presence of rifampicin, or by low concentrations of acetate. Geomicrobiol. J. 21(7):433-443.

Bräuer SL, Yashiro E, Ueno N*, Yavitt JB, and Zinder SH. 2006. Characterization of acid-tolerant H₂/CO₂-utilizing methanogenic enrichment cultures from an acidic peat bog. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 57(2):206-216.

Cadillo-Quiroz H, Bräuer SL, Yashiro E, Sun C*, Yavitt JB, and Zinder SH. 2006. Vertical profiles of methanogens in two contrasting acidic peatlands in central New York State, USA. Environ. Microbiol. 8(8):1428-1440.

Bräuer SL, Yashiro E, Cadillo-Quiroz H, Yavitt JB, and Zinder SH. 2006. Isolation of a novel acidiphilic methanogen from an acidic peat bog. Nature 442:192-194.

Grants and Awards:

2005 Small Grant, NSF IGERT in Biogeochemistry and Environmental Biocomplexity, Cornell University

2005 Environmental Research Grant, Cornell Center for the Environment, Cornell University

2003 Outstanding Teaching Assistant, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University

2001 Research Fellowship, Program in Biogeochemistry and Environmental Change, Cornell University

1999 Research Grant, The Evergreen State College Foundation

Please see my curriculum vitae for more information.