Specific research topics include:

1. Microbial food web dynamics and trophic interactions in eutrophic and oligotrophic waters.

2. Microbial metabolic pathways that are critical to the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and other elements in the ocean, such as production, respiration, and nitrogen fixation.

3. Effect of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors, such as hypoxia, acidification, and pollutant input on the metabolism of plankton communities.

4. Microbial ecology in cold seep ecosystems.