Contact Information
Research Interests
I focus on the Microbial Ecology of biogeochemical processes, particularly those that occur in the subsurface. Of particular interest are studies involving respiratory anaerobic microorganisms, such as those that reduce halogenated compounds and metals, in both natural and human impacted ecosystems. Recent projects have involved deep subsurface microbial activity in the Illinois Basin Mt. Simon formation; microbial community composition in the Mahomet aquifer (major drinking water source for Champaign); bioremediation of chlorinated solvents in low permeability zones; evaluation of sulfate reducing microbial growth in microfluidic devices; and detailed evaluation of the N-cycle in agricultural soils and tropical soils relative to greenhouse gas (nitrous oxide) formation.
Education
- PhD. Microbiology, Michigan State University 1996
- MS. Microbiology, Colorado State University
- BA. Biology, Whitman College
Courses Taught
- GEOL 561: Geomicrobiology and Geochemistry (Spring)
- Fall Geomicrobiology Topics Seminar (Climate Change, Bioremediation, etc.)
Recent Publications
Chen, M., Conroy, J. L., Sanford, R. A., Chee-Sanford, J. C., & Connor, L. M. (2021). Interpreting lacustrine bulk sediment δ15N values using metagenomics in a tropical hypersaline lake system. Journal of Paleolimnology, 65(1), 151-168. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-020-00157-7
He, Y., Huang, D., Li, S., Shi, L., Sun, W., Sanford, R. A., Fan, H., Wang, M., Li, B., Li, Y., Tang, X., & Dong, Y. (Accepted/In press). Profiling of Microbial Communities in the Sediments of Jinsha River Watershed Exposed to Different Levels of Impacts by the Vanadium Industry, Panzhihua, China. Microbial Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-021-01708-9
Sanford, R. A., Lloyd, K. G., Konstantinidis, K. T., & Löffler, F. E. (Accepted/In press). Microbial Taxonomy Run Amok. Trends in Microbiology, 29(5), 394-404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2020.12.010
Shan, J., Sanford, R. A., Chee‐Sanford, J., Ooi, S. K., Löffler, F. E., Konstantinidis, K. T., & Yang, W. H. (Accepted/In press). Beyond denitrification: the role of microbial diversity in controlling nitrous oxide reduction and soil nitrous oxide emissions. Global change biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15545
Basu, A., Wanner, C., Johnson, T. M., Lundstrom, C. C., Sanford, R. A., Sonnenthal, E. L., Boyanov, M. I., & Kemner, K. M. (2020). Microbial U Isotope Fractionation Depends on the U(VI) Reduction Rate. Environmental Science and Technology, 54(4), 2295-2303. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b05935