Mette Marianne Svenning is a Professor at the Department of Arctic and Marine Biology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Her research focuses on microbial communities in Arctic and high-latitude ecosystems, particularly methanotrophs and their roles in methane cycling, permafrost dynamics, and climate change feedbacks. She investigates microbial adaptations to extreme environments, including cold-adapted methanotrophs and their metabolic pathways. Her work integrates genomic, transcriptomic, and biogeochemical approaches to understand microbial contributions to global carbon cycles. Key research themes include methane oxidation mechanisms, microbial community responses to environmental changes, and symbiotic relationships in Arctic seep ecosystems. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Svalbard and other Arctic regions, contributing to long-term ecological studies at Ny-Ålesund. Her research also explores applications in biotechnology, such as microbial consortia for methane conversion to industrial products. Dr. Svenning collaborates internationally on projects addressing permafrost thaw impacts, microbial biogeography, and the interplay between vegetation, herbivory, and soil microbiota. Her findings highlight the critical role of Arctic microorganisms in modulating greenhouse gas emissions under climate change scenarios.









