Throughout her career, Dr. Kalyuzhnaya explored single carbon (C1) metabolism as a model example for core cellular functions. Currently, she is focusing on one of the most challenging aspects in microbiology: how to gain a better understanding of the microbial metabolic network and use this knowledge to develop new green technologies. In addition to her research, Dr. Kalyuzhnaya expresses a strong interest in teaching. From the beginning of her teaching experience to now, Dr. Kalyuzhnaya finds her teaching career to be filled with excitement and new opportunities to learn through educating her students. Through her point of view, the most rewarding experience is to watch her students mature from setting up their first hands-on experiments to writing their first research publication and proposal. As for her future achievements, Dr. Kalyuzhnaya is currently collaborating with her colleagues on developing new special topics courses for engineering and microbiology students at the University of Washington, as well as providing opportunities for future students through outreach programs.

Credentials

• PhD (Microbiology) from the Center for Microbiology and Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences; IBPM, Russia

• BS/MS (Biology, Microbiology) from the Department of Microbiology, Dnepropetrovsk State University; Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine

• Postdoctoral training (Molecular Biology, Gene Engineering, and Biotechnology) from M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University; Moscow, Russia

Professional Appointments

• Research Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, University of Washington (2006 - Present)

• Research Associate, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Washington (2001 - 2006)

• Junior Research Scientist, G.K. Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry & Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences (1997 - 2002)

• Engineering-investigator, G.K. Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry & Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian Academy of SSciences (1995 - 1997)

Research Interests

• Metabolic Engineering: System Biology and Biotechnology of Methanotrophy

• System Biology of C1 Metabolism

• Microbial Biochemistry, Genetics, and Ecology

• Environmental Microbiology: Methane Cycle and Bioremediation

• Sustainable Engineering: Methane to Chemicals Conversion

Research Projects

The majority of projects Dr. Kalyuzhnaya contributes to are a part of the Community Sequencing Program (CSP). CSP was created to provide the scientific community with access to high throughput sequencing at the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (JGI). All sequencing projects are chosen based on scientific merit, which will then be judged through independent peer reviews and relevance to issues in global carbon cycling, alternative energy production, and biochemistry. The following projects are based on Genome Sequencing:

• (PI) JGI//DOE (2011 - 2012): Revising methanotrophy: a comprehensive genomic probing of the unexpected genetic and metabolic diversity of aerobic methane consuming bacteria.

• (PI) JGI //DOE (2010 - 2011): Integrating microbial diversity and function in nature: metabolic versatility of methylotrophic Rhodocyclales.

• (PI) JGI //DOE (2010 - 2011): Coupling function to genomics via single-cell phenotyping and genome sequencing.

• (CO-PI) JGI //DOE (2010 - 2011; PI Chistoserdova): Genomes of fifty methylotrophs isolated from Lake Washington.

• (CO-PI) JGI //DOE (2009 - 2010; PI Chistoserdova): Connection between methane and nitrogen cycles in freshwater lakes, as revealed by functional metagenomics.