Viruses in Soils - What Do We Know, and Where Do We Go From Here?

Laura Zinke is a viral and microbial ecologist, with a specialty in environmental systems. A Texas native, she received her BS in Biology from Texas A&M University in 2013. She then pursued a PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California (USC). While at USC, she studied the relationships between microbial ecology and geochemistry in marine sediments under the advisement of Drs. Jan Amend and Brandi Kiel Reese. This work led her to the tropical Pacific Ocean and the Baltic Sea, where she participated in research cruises (no swimsuits required). Currently, Laura is a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Joanne Emerson's viral ecology lab at the University of California, Davis. She currently investigates viral communities in agricultural soils and how these communities impact living entities and abiotic soil properties.