Marc W. Van Goethem
Marc W. Van Goethem graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Genetics at the University of Pretoria in 2011. He then completed an Honors degree in 2012, a Master’s degree in 2014 (both Genetics) and received his PhD in Biotechnology in 2017. His research focused on studying the ecology of desert microbial communities in Antarctica and Namibia. He then completed a postdoctoral position at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2018-2020) and is currently pursuing another postdoctoral position at the Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His current research uses metagenomics to understand the taxonomy and functionality of microbial communities across diverse ecosystems. The main foci are to define functional attributes that allow microbes to confer beneficial functions in natural systems and how we can harness these traits for biotechnological applications.
FeaturesMicrobial solutions to dryland desertification
Covering more than 45% of the Earth’s surface, drylandsare home to ~3 billion humans (~37.5% of the population) and generate ~50% of global food production.
