Marine Microbial Ecology | Needham Group at GEOMAR

Research

We integrate oceanography, ecology, microbiology, and genomics to understand how the full microbial community—microbial eukaryotes, bacteria, archaea and viruses—shapes ocean ecosystems, elemental cycles, and productivity.

We use advanced molecular and experimental techniques to explore microbial dynamics through time-series and research cruises, microcosm experiments, and the isolation of novel organisms.

Our research spans diverse marine environments, including the Arctic Ocean, Tropical North Atlantic (around Cabo Verde), the Baltic Sea, and the North Sea, and is supported by the Helmholtz Association, the German Alliance for Marine Research (DAM), and the German Research Foundation (DFG).

People

Our group strives to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive research environment that celebrates diversity as a moral value. We recognize that diverse backgrounds, different life experiences, and global perspectives are essential to research excellence. We aspire to a stimulating, collaborative, and open research environment, inspired by our individual and shared passions and curiosities about nature.