Beatrix Maria Heinze

Beatrix Maria Heinze is a Researcher at the Department of Biogeochemical Processes (BGP) at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-gBGC) and affiliated with the Institute of Biodiversity at Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (FSU Jena). Her doctoral research focuses on 'Ancient sediments drive modern microbial food webs,' exploring the interplay between geological history and contemporary microbial ecosystems.

Education:

• M.Sc. Chemical Biology, FSU Jena (2016–2019). Thesis: 'Impact of autochthonous primary production on a groundwater microbial community' (Supervisor: Martin Taubert).
• B.Sc. Biochemistry/Molecular Biology, FSU Jena (2013–2016). Thesis: 'Lasso peptides from the endofungal bacterium Burkholderia rhizoxinica' (Supervisor: Evgeni Bratovanov).

Research Interests:

Her work integrates biogeochemical processes, microbial ecology, and environmental microbiology to understand how ancient sedimentary records influence modern microbial community dynamics. She investigates groundwater microbial communities, geochemical cycling, and the role of microbial food webs in shaping ecosystem resilience.

Labs/Teams:

She is part of the Aqua Diva research theme and the International Max Planck Research School for Global Biogeochemical Cycles (IMPRS-gBGC), fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in global biogeochemical studies.