Emily Zakem

Emily Zakem is a Staff Associate/Principal Investigator at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology (DGE) on Stanford University’s campus and an Assistant Professor (by courtesy) at Stanford University. She also holds an Adjunct Assistant Professor (Research) position at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on biogeochemistry and microbial ecology, using theoretical and computational models to study microbial activity’s role in global biogeochemical cycles and climate systems. She works at both Carnegie’s Stanford and Caltech campuses.

Education: Ph.D. in Climate Physics and Chemistry from MIT (advised by Dr. Mick Follows), followed by a Simons Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at USC under Dr. Naomi Levine. Research interests include microbial-driven carbon/nitrogen cycling and modeling microbial populations under environmental constraints.

Notable recognition includes the Simons Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. She leads research groups at Carnegie, with openings for postdocs. Her work integrates theory, modeling, and environmental science to address global ecological challenges.