I’m Mingfei, currently a Postdoc Scholar at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) supervised by Dr. Romy Chakraborty. I'm mainly working in the ENIGMA SFA, but also collaborate with other scientists from EESA and EGSB.
Education
- Ph.D.: Geology at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2022)
- Advisor: Dr. Jessica L. Conroy
- B.S.: Geology at Peking University (2017)
About me
My research interests encompass environmental microbiology, paleoclimate studies, and synthetic microbiology. In environmental microbiology, I focus on microbe-mineral interactions, the behavior of microbes in extreme environments, bioinformatics, and the enrichment and isolation of rarely cultivated microbes. My paleoclimate research involves paleolimnology and the use of proxies from lake records to understand past climate conditions. In synthetic microbiology, I utilize AI-driven methods to select microbial consortia for practical applications such as mining critical minerals, degrading contaminated plastics, and promoting plant growth.
I'm also committed to outreach activities, as I have been partnering with the K-12 team of LBNL for guest lecturing, mentoring, and job shadowing events.
In my free time, I love playing volleyball, bouldering, hiking, working out, and playing with my cat Onion.
I'm also committed to outreach activities, as I have been partnering with the K-12 team of LBNL for guest lecturing, mentoring, and job shadowing events.
In my free time, I love playing volleyball, bouldering, hiking, working out, and playing with my cat Onion.
News and Updates
- Apr 2025: I have given an invited seminar "Beyond the Petri Dish: Harnessing Microbial Biofilms and SynComs for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioremediation" in the Plant Pathology and Microbiology Department at Texas A&M University
- Apr 2025: I have given an invited seminar "ENSO, Biofilms, and Microbial Resilience in Aquatic Systems" in the Department of Biological Sciences at Florida International University
- Mar 2025: I was selected as an NMDC (National Microbiome Data Collaborative) Ambassador for the 2025 Cohort! Very excited to contribute to the FAIR data sharing for the microbiome science. You can check this page for more details.
- Jan 2025: Our work "Unraveling the influence of microbial necromass on subsurface microbiomes: metabolite utilization and community dynamics" has been published in The ISME Communications
- Aug 2024: Our work "Molecular mechanisms and environmental adaptations of flagellar loss and biofilm growth of Rhodanobacter under environmental stress" has been published in The ISME Journal
- May 2024: Our work "Developing stable, simplified, functional consortia from Brachypodium rhizosphere for microbial application in sustainable agriculture" has been published in Frontiers in Microbiology
- Mar 2024: I have given an invited seminar "Microbial Timekeepers: Decoding Environmental Shifts in Tropical Lakes" in the Department of Geological Science at University of Colorado, Boulder
- Feb 2024: I have given an invited seminar "Microbial Timekeepers: Decoding Environmental Shifts in Tropical Lakes" in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Texas A&M University
- Oct 2023: I have given an invited seminar “Biofilms and Brine: The Secrets of Microbial Persistence in Harsh Realms” in the Biology Department at Sonoma State University
- Oct 2023: I have given an invited seminar “Microbial-biogeochemical interactions in tropical lacustrine environments” in the Department of Oceanography at Southern University of Science and Technology
- Oct 2023: I have given an invited seminar “Microbial-biogeochemical interactions in tropical lacustrine environments” in the Department of Geology at Peking University
- Apr 2023: Our work "Tropical lacustrine sediment microbial community response to an extreme El Niño event" has been published in Scientific Reports
- Apr 2023：I have won the first place at the BioEPIC Research SLAM!
- Sep 2022：I received a Discovery Grant (Amount: $150,676) that supports my postdoctoral research (Sep 2022 to Sep 2023)
- Jul 2022：Our work "Stable carbon isotope values of syndepositional carbonate spherules and micrite record spatial and temporal changes in photosynthesis intensity" has been published in Geobiology
- May 2022: I have successfully defended my Ph.D. dissertation at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and moved to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to start as a postdoctoral scholar