Matti Gralka

Matti Gralka is an Assistant Professor at the Department of A-LIFE within the Faculty of Science at VU Amsterdam. He holds a PhD in Physics from the University of California Berkeley and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT as a Simons Fellow in Marine Microbial Ecology. His research focuses on microbial community dynamics, combining lab experiments with ecological theory to understand how microbes interact and drive biogeochemical cycles.

Education:

• PhD in Physics, University of California Berkeley (2013–2018)
• Master's in Physics, University of Leipzig (2007–2013)
• Simons Postdoctoral Fellowship in Marine Microbial Ecology, MIT (2018–2022)

Research Interests: Dr. Gralka explores microbial ecology across scales, including microbial interactions, community assembly, and the application of ecological theory to cellular systems. His work addresses how spatial structure, metabolic preferences, and environmental heterogeneity influence microbial dynamics and biogeochemical processes. Key themes include marine microbiology, carbon cycling, and evolutionary dynamics in microbial populations.

Recent Work Trends: His articles (2020–2024) emphasize microbial community assembly, metabolic adaptations in marine heterotrophs, and the interplay between ecological principles and microbial evolution. Notable contributions include genome-based predictions of carbon utilization and studies on dimethylsulfide cycling in oceanic systems.

Teaching: He teaches courses on systems biology, cooperation-conflict dynamics in nature, and microbial community ecology. Current courses include 'Basics of Systems Biology' and 'Cooperation & Conflict in Nature.'

Labs/Teams: Active in systems and synthetic biology research groups at VU Amsterdam, focusing on integrating experimental and computational approaches to microbial ecology.