LIHINI ALUWIHARE

Lihini Aluwihare is a Professor in the Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. Her research focuses on organic matter dynamics, microbial interactions, and biogeochemical cycles in aquatic environments. She employs advanced analytical techniques including LC-ESI-MS, GC-TOF-MS, stable isotope analysis, and DNA sequencing.

Education:

• B.S., Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts
• PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Research Interests:

Her work addresses the production, transformation, and removal of dissolved organic matter in oceans, its role in the biological carbon pump, coastal nitrogen cycling, microbe-microbe interactions via dissolved molecules, and halogenated organic compounds. She uses isotopes as tracers of organic matter sources and residence times, and investigates microbial diversity through genomics.

Labs/Teams:

Based at the Geosciences Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, she leads research integrating chemical and biological oceanography with state-of-the-art analytical tools.