Su Ding

Su Ding is a Researcher in the Microbiology & Biogeochemistry department at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), where she has worked since December 2019. Her research focuses on marine lipid biomarkers to understand microbial processes and environmental adaptations in ocean systems.

Education

• Ph.D. in Molecular Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena (2015-2019). Thesis: "Sources and environmental controls of microbial membrane lipids in soils and groundwater". Supervised by Prof. Dr. Georg Pohnert (Friedrich Schiller University Jena) and Prof. Dr. Gerd Gleixner (Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry).

Research Focus

Ding's work centers on unlocking microbial lipid production mechanisms in uncultured organisms using integrated omics approaches. She investigates how lipids serve as biomarkers for environmental conditions (e.g., phosphorus deprivation, symbiotic relationships) and their preservation in geological records. Her research bridges genomics and novel lipidomics workflows to map lipid producers in marine ecosystems, with implications for understanding biogeochemical cycles over geological timescales.

Publication Trends

Her 2024 publications reveal a strong focus on microbial adaptation strategies in extreme marine environments. Key themes include lipidome remodeling under nutrient stress (phosphorus limitation), host-symbiont lipid exchanges in archaea, and structural diversity of microbial lipids in anoxic basins. These studies demonstrate methodological innovation in linking lipid profiles to specific microbial processes across diverse marine settings.

Professional Network

Ding collaborates with leading researchers including Jaap Sinninghe Damsté, Anja Spang, and Nicole Bale at NIOZ, with prior affiliations at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, University of Bremen, and Kansas State University. Her work has been featured in NIOZ news regarding deep-sea microbial adaptations and archaeal parasitism.

Laboratory Context

As part of NIOZ's Microbiology & Biogeochemistry department, Ding contributes to research on lipid biomarkers in marine systems. Her work integrates with NIOZ's National Marine Facilities and participates in international projects like the I-Nano cruise exploring deep-sea nanomaterials, leveraging advanced omics platforms for environmental microbiology.