Alexander Probst

Prof. Alexander Probst is a W3 Professor at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, leading the Environmental Metagenomics group within the Research Center One Health Ruhr. He is a member of the University Alliance Ruhr collaboration. His research bridges microbiology and bioinformatics, focusing on microbial ecophysiology, One Health, and ecosystem health in subsurface environments. He investigates deep groundwater, aquatic microbial biodiversity, and virus-microbe interactions using metagenomics and microscopy.

His work has been supported by prestigious grants, including an ERC Synergy Grant (2023) for the Archean Park project and DFG funding for CRC RESIST. He was recognized as a 'Highly Cited Researcher 2024' by Clarivate. Probst collaborates internationally, such as with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (USA) and the China University of Geosciences (Beijing). His lab’s projects include GENIAL (DOE-funded) for algae biodiversity and MultiKulti for cultivating uncultivated microbes.

Research interests include subsurface microbial life, CRISPR-Cas systems, and biotechnological applications of extremophiles. He coordinates data management in the CRC RESIST consortium and leads initiatives like the IQ-Wasser project linking AI to water quality monitoring. His lab’s future work emphasizes microbial interactions in extreme environments and One Health interdisciplinary research.

• Scientific Awards: Highly Cited Researchers 2024 (Clarivate).

Advising and grants: Supervises doctoral researcher Rena (Project A01, CRC RESIST). His grants total over €70 million, including contributions from German federal and state funding for the ACTIVE SITES research building. He collaborates on projects addressing climate change impacts on water systems, microbial symbiosis, and pathogen control in drinking water.

Labs/Teams: Probst Lab, part of the Research Center One Health Ruhr, and involved in the University Alliance Ruhr. Active in international networks like the Joint Genome Institute (LBL, USA) and the One Health initiative.