The National Science Foundation Office of Integrative Activities awarded Mississippi State University $299,738 on January 1, 2027, under the Integrative Activities program (CFDA 47.083) to support a Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) EPSCOR Research Fellows project investigating microbial metabolic networks and ecosystem-scale biogeochemical cycling in Florida Everglades mangroves.
The award funds a fellowship for an assistant professor and graduate student training at Mississippi State University to study how microorganisms regulate carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycling in mangrove ecosystems. The research team will generate metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, and metabolomic datasets from mangrove soils, porewater, and estuarine channel water during wet and dry seasons at the Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research site. The investigators will develop machine learning and artificial intelligence-based computational workflows to analyze high-dimensional molecular datasets and infer microbial genetic and regulatory controls on ecosystem functions. The work addresses knowledge gaps linking microbial communities to ecosystem services including clean water and coastal stabilization. Research is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Emily Graham at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The period of performance runs through December 31, 2028. Place of performance is Richland, Washington.