Alyson Santoro

Alyson Santoro is a Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Her research focuses on marine microbial ecology, particularly the roles of microbes in nitrogen cycling and their interactions with ocean ecosystems. She leads the Santoro Research Group, which combines laboratory experiments with field observations to study microorganisms such as archaea and bacteria involved in nutrient processes.

Education: B.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Dartmouth College; M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. Postdoctoral fellowship at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution before joining UCSB.

Research Interests: Cultivation of novel microbes, tracking microbial activity using genomics and stable isotope geochemistry, and understanding the ecological roles of marine archaea, including their production of nitrous oxide. Current projects include investigating microbial attenuation of carbon flux in the mesopelagic zone and the functional diversity of marine nitrifiers.

Awards: Sloan Foundation Early Career Fellowship, Simons Foundation Investigator awards, Fellowships from the American Academy of Microbiology and ASLO.

Labs/Teams: Directs a lab committed to diversity and inclusion, with ongoing projects funded by NSF, NASA, and the Simons Foundation. Collaborates on initiatives like the BioGeoSCAPES program and the use of robotic platforms for high-resolution ocean sampling.