Dr. Natuschka M. Lee Assistant Professor Microbial Systems Ecology Lab Department of Microbiology TUM – Technische Universität München (Technical University of Munich), Germany

Dr. Natuschka M. Lee received her Master of Science Degree in Biology and Chemistry, and then PhD in Environmental Biotechnology at Lund University in Sweden. She was then awarded a grant for a postdoc stay with Professor PH Nielsen at the department of Environmental Biotechnology, Aalborg University in Denmark, to learn how to apply radioactive tools in environmental microbiology for in situ physiological studies. After this she was granted an Alexander Humboldt fellowship for a postdoc stay with Professor KH Schleifer at the department of microbiology, TUM, to learn advanced aspects of taxonomy, phylogeny, bioinformatics and molecular tools in microbial ecology. She is currently an assistant professor at TUM in microbial systems ecology at the department of Microbiology.   Her research areas deal with the microbial biodiversity of the subsurface in contaminated and pristine eco-systems in different parts of the world, astrobiology, symbiotic biology, and the development of novel analytical tools for in situ detection of microorganisms in environmental systems, like chloro-organic contaminated areas and extreme eco-systems in general. She is part of the teaching system at TUM for undergraduate courses in microbiology, and organises regularly international courses for academy and the bioremediation industry on in situ detection of microbial structure and function in the environment.

Presentation Description
Visualizing Microorganisms by Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization in Contaminated Systems – Potentials and Limits
This presentation will give an overview of how current and future microscopy tools, employing molecular probes, fluorescence in situ hybridization or other marker technologies, can  be used in the bioremediation field, and how they can be combined with other analytical tools for an advanced understanding of microbial structure and function in contaminated systems.