Meriel J. Bittner

Meriel J. Bittner is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), specializing in microbial ecology with emphasis on microbial interactions and chemical communication in aquatic and soil environments to advance biotechnological applications and environmental biogeochemical understanding.

Her academic background includes:

• PhD in Marine Microbiology from the University of Copenhagen (2023) - Dissertation: "Vitamin B1 Dynamics in Coastal Waters"
• MSc in Microbial Ecology from the University of Vienna (2019) - Thesis: "Biogeographical patterns of Marine Group II and Marine Group III Euryarchaeota along a transect of the Pacific"

Dr. Bittner's research spans microbial community dynamics, chemical signaling in microorganisms, and biogeochemical cycling with specific expertise in vitamin B1 metabolism, soil microbiome analysis, and marine archaea distributions. Her work integrates molecular techniques like fluorescence in situ hybridization with environmental microbiology to decode microbial interactions in diverse ecosystems.

Her recent publications reveal strong methodological innovation in environmental microbiology, including solid-phase extraction protocols for aquatic vitamin analysis and live-cell imaging of soil microbes, while also advocating for interdisciplinary early-career collaboration frameworks that address complex microbiological challenges through team science approaches.

As supervisor for the PhD project "Antagonism by microbial guilds associated with marine invertebrates" (2025-2028) and BioGeoSCAPES ambassador (2024-present), Dr. Bittner actively mentors emerging scientists and shapes community initiatives, building on her prior role as EGU Early Career Scientist Representative for Ocean Sciences (2020-2022).

She contributes to DTU's Molecular Microbial Ecology group, Center for Microbial Secondary Metabolites, and DTU Microbes Initiative, driving collaborative research on microbial secondary metabolism and cross-kingdom interactions in environmental systems.