Gemma Reguera

More Than MERe Microbes: Microbial electrochemical reactors for water reuse in Africa

Gemma RegueraGemma Reguera is an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Michigan State University. She is an environmental microbiologist and holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and another from the University of Oviedo (Spain).

Her research focuses on investigating the energy conversion reactions catalyzed by microorganisms in natural and anthropogenic systems. Her interests go beyond the basic research and seek to develop sustainable technologies that harness the natural processes for bioenergy and bioremediation applications. Of particular interest is the coupling of carbon cycling to metal reduction by microorganisms, which the Reguera lab is harnessing to develop technologies for the environmental remediation of environments impacted by toxic metals and energy recovery from agricultural, industrial, and human wastes.

At the core of these projects is the development of genetic engineering approaches to understand the biological mechanisms underlying microbial functions so we can manipulate their properties for biotechnological applications.

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Meet the other winners:

Plamen Atanassov | Luis Godinez | Neus Sabaté | Gerardine Botte | Falk Harnisch | Eric Wachsman