We study interactions across the plant-microbe-soil continuum to understand how these interactions shape the ecology of soil organisms and the functional outcomes of soil processes.
Through an interdisciplinary systems biology framework, we integrate classical organismal biology with modern microbial ecology to address fundamental questions in soil microbiology
and organismal interactions that could lead to novel concepts and products that directly benefit the environment and society.
Hawaiʻi is a breath-taking natural laboratory and is an incredible place to do research. The Hawaiian Islands have 10/12 (83%) Soil Orders and 27/38 (71%) Bioclimatic Life Zones on the planet.
The intersections between soils and climate provide a wealth of environmental diversity, as well as replicability, for terrestrial ecosystem research. We base our research on this diversity,
with an emphasis on the unique volcanic Andisol soils. You can find us digging in fields, forests, and greenhouses, across both natural and managed ecosystems.
The current focus of the lab is the interactions between two of the most ubiquitous groups of soil microorganisms - fungi and bacteria.
We are interested in understanding who are interacting with each other, how they interact, and what are the functional impacts of these interactions to natural and agroecosystem soils.
LAB NEWS
May 2024
The end of summer can be bittersweet. Christian Fullmer completed his M.S. degree! He will transition to doing soil research with our good collaborator Dr. Tai Maaz. After a short but good stay in the lab, Augie Rodegerts graduated with a B.S. in Botany. Ishwora Dhungana received the MSA Graduate Fellowship, Viviana Gaytan received the UROP Presentation award for traveling and presenting at this summer's MSA meeting, and Luke Amarine received the MSA SPORES mentorship award for new initiates into Mycology. Congratulations!March 2024
The lab joins an interdisciplinary team of chemists and microbiologists for the next five years to study fungal-bacterial interactions on surface films, supported by the Department of Defense! See the award announcement.
February 2024
Welcome undergrads Augie Rodegerts and Luke Amerine to the lab!
September 2023
Congratulations to Jon Abe, who is first author on a newly published manuscript on the presence of legume nodulating rhizobia on Oʻahu! Jon did this work while he was an undergraduate in the lab, doing his senior thesis and supported by the UROP program.
The lab received a grant from the USDA to use machine learning to connect the soil microbiome to soil health. This is an exciting collaborative project with Dr. Tai Maaz (PI), Drs. Susan Crow, Jonathan Deenik, Mikey Kantar, and Nhu Nguyen as Co-PIs. The Nguyen Lab's contributions to this project will be led by Dr. Giovana Slanzon.
August 2023
Nhu received the prestigious Constantine J. Alexopoulos Prize for Outstanding Early Career Mycologist from the Mycological Society of America!
Ishwora also received a student travel award bearing the same name! It allowed her to travel to the meeting and present her work. The award was given at the MSA 2023 Annual Meeting in Flagstaff, AZ.
PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS
Graduate students
Prospective students who are inquisitive, motivated, independent, hard-working, with good communication and writing skills interested in joining the lab, should email Nhu directly with a detailed CV, and a statement of interest that highlights who you are, your career goals, why you want to join the lab group, how you see yourself fitting into the larger research themes of the lab, and the skills that you have that can potentially contribute to the lab and topic of study. Feel free to attach and supporting documents that might be helpful (CV, transcripts, publications, etc...). I will likely not respond to introductory emails that does not specifically speak to your interest and fit in the lab.- Useful resources
TPSS Graduate Program
Apply through Graduate Division
An example of how to craft an effective introductory email
An example of how to write an effective research interest statement. Or search the web for many, many more examples.