Soil Biology and Genomics

Soil Profile

All terrestrial life on earth depends upon soil, making it one of our most important resources.


We make use of a range of technologies in our research program and aim to generate research outcomes that enable us to build a holistic picture of how soil organisms influence the ecology, growth and diversity of plants and animals.

The outcomes from our research will be used to improve future strategies for ecosystem management, increased plant production, carbon sequestration, and remediation of contaminated soils.


Our mission is to innovate, integrate and extend knowledge of soil biodiversity and its linkages with ecosystem services in order to gain a holistic view of belowground responses to environmental and global change.



Soil Biology and Genomics Theme Scientists

PositionNameKeywords
Theme LeaderProf Jeff PowellMicrobial ecology, community assembly, ecological informatics
ProfessorProf Elise PendallSoil science, biogeochemistry, ecosystem ecology, stable isotope ecology
DirectorProf Ian AndersonMicrobial ecology, molecular ecology, mycorrhizal fungi, plant microbe interactions
Distinguished ProfessorDist Prof Brajesh SinghMicrobial ecology, functional microbial ecology, global processes
Senior LecturerDr Yolima CarrilloRhizosphere mediation, impacts of drought, drought tolerance, microbial metabolism
Senior LecturerDr Catriona MacdonaldMicrobial ecology, plant-soil interactions, nutrient cycling
Theme Research CoordinatorA/Prof Uffe NielsenSoil biodiversity, global change, ecosystem processes
Associate ProfessorA/Prof Alexie PapanicolaouBioinformatics, molecular biology, computer science, genome bioinformatics, biosecurity, climate adaptation, evolutionary biology
Associate ProfessorA/Prof Jonathan PlettSignalling, effectors, protein characterisation
LecturerDr Eleonora Egidi 
LecturerDr Adam Frew 
LecturerDr Juntao WangBushfire Research: Soil Biodiversity
Humboldt FellowshipDr Carlos Aguilar 
Research FellowDr Jamil Chowdhury 
Research FellowDr Donovin Coles 
Research FellowAyomide Fadiji 
Research FellowDr Michael Franklin 
Research FellowDr Min Gao 
Research FellowDr Hongwei Liu 
Research FellowDr Tess McBride 
Research FellowDr Awais Shakoor 
Research FellowDr Emi Stuart 
Research FellowDr Natascha Weinberger 
Research FellowDr Chao Xiong 
Research FellowDr Zhen-Zhen  Yan