Biography

Kenneth Wasmund is a Lecturer in Environmental Microbiology, and has broad experience in the study of microorganisms in environmental and biotechnological systems including the marine subsurface, wastewater treatment plants, and contaminated environments. 

Experience in the application of molecular approaches for the study of the functions and ecology of microorganisms in environmental samples, through approaches such as metagenomics/genomics, stable-isotope probing, anaerobic microbiology, and microbial community-profiling.   

Completed his PhD while based at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), and through the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. 

Held Postdoctoral Research positions in Germany (Department of Isotope Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research), Austria (Division of Microbial Ecology, University of Vienna), and Denmark (Centre for Microbial Communities, Aalborg University). 

Secured major funding from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF, Austria) and the Joint Genome Institute (JGI, USA).

Conducted several field expeditions in the Arctic (Svalbard) and the Timor Sea. 

Associate editor for Microbiome & Environmental Microbiome; previously a Guest Editor for Frontiers in Microbiology special issue for sulfur-cycling microorganisms.

Reviewed for journals including Nature, PNAS, Nature Communications, Science Advances, The ISME Journal, Environmental Microbiology, and Applied and Environmental Microbiology et al.

Research interests

Understanding the functions and ecology of microbes and whole microbial communities in environmental systems using molecular and genomic/metagenomic approaches, especially in marine systems and sediments, and wastewater treatment plants. 

Especially interested in understanding how & which microbes degrade and consume different organic molecules, especially large macromolecules (e.g., proteins, DNA etc), and how this controls biogeochemical processes, microbial food-webs, and niche partitioning. 

Further topics include the study of newly described sulfur-cycling bacteria in marine systems, as well as genomics and proteomics of bacteria that transform halogenated-organic pollutants.

Methodological interests include: the application and development of stable-isotope probing approaches to track isotopically-labelled atoms/organics into specific microorganisms; fluorescent in situ hybridisation for the detection & visualisation of microorganisms in the environment; metagenomic analyses for understanding the functions of uncultivated microorganisms.

Research outputs

2024

Pereira, F. C., Ge, X., Kristensen, J. M., Kirkegaard, R. H., Maritsch, K., Szamosvári, D., Imminger, S., Seki, D., Shazzad, J. B., Zhu, Y., Decorte, M., Hausmann, B., Berry, D., Wasmund, K., Schintlmeister, A., Böttcher, T., Cheng, J., Wagner, M.

1 Dec 2024, In: Nature Microbiology. 9, 12, p. 3165-3183, 19p.

Research output: Article

Pinel-Cabello, M., Wasmund, K., Soder-Walz, J. M., Vega, M., Rosell, M., Marco-Urrea, E.

15 Nov 2024, In: Environmental Pollution. 361, 9p., 124823

Research output: Article

Wasmund, K., Singleton, C. M., Dueholm, M. K. D., Wagner, M., Nielsen, P. H.

22 Oct 2024, In: mSystems. 9, 10, 22p., e00301-24

Research output: Article

Palatinszky, M., Herbold, C. W., Sedlacek, C. J., Pühringer, D., Kitzinger, K., Giguere, A. T., Wasmund, K., Hostrup Nielsen, P., Dueholm, M. K. D., Jehmlich, N., Gruseck, R., Legin, A., Kostan, J., Krasnici, N., Schreiner, C., Palmetzhofer, J., Hofmann, T., Zumstein, M., Djinović-Carugo, K., Daims, H., Wagner, M.

19 Sep 2024, In: Nature. 633

Research output: Article

2023

Soder-Walz, J. M., Wasmund, K., Deobald, D., Vicent, T., Adrian, L., Marco-Urrea, E.

1 Nov 2023, In: Environmental Microbiology. 25, 11, p. 2604-2620, 17p.

Research output: Article

Wasmund, K., Trueba-Santiso, A., Vicent, T., Adrian, L., Vuilleumier, S., Marco-Urrea, E.

1 Jul 2023, In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 30, 11p.

Research output: Article

Palau, J., Trueba-Santiso, A., Rong, Y., Mortan, S. H., Shouakar-Stash, O., Freedman, D. L., Wasmund, K., Hunkeler, D., Marco-Urrea, E., Rosell, M.

7 Feb 2023, In: Environmental Science & Technology. 57, 5, p. 1851-2198

Research output: Article

Sauter, D., Steuer, A., Wasmund, K., Hausmann, B., Szewzyk, U., Sperlich, A., Gnirss, R., Cooper, M., Wintgens, T.

15 Jan 2023, In: Science of the Total Environment. 856, Part 2, 12p., 159265

Research output: Article

2022

Sánchez-Navarro, R., Nuhamunada, M., Mohite, O., Wasmund, K., Albertsen, M., Gram, L., Hostrup Nielsen, P., Weber, T., Singleton, C. M.

1 Dec 2022, In: mSystems. 7, 6, 15p., e00632-22

Research output: Article

Singleton, C. M., Petriglieri, F., Wasmund, K., Nierychlo, M., Kondrotaite, Z., Petersen, J. F., Peces, M., Dueholm, M. S., Wagner, M., Nielsen, P. H.

1 Jun 2022, In: ISME Journal. 16, 6, p. 1605-1616

Research output: Article