Anna-Louise relaxing on deck with some of her research group: Melissa Kendall (a graduate student), Jane Boone (a research technician), and Dorothy Got (a Post-Doc).

Question:
What did you want to be when you grew up? Were you always interested in science?

Anna-Louise:
I was always interested in science as a child. My parents encouraged me to look at nature. We spent many holidays camping, fishing, and sailing off the coast. All that time I spent on the ocean as a child made me want to get involved in a profession where I could be around water. I liked school a lot and always enjoyed science. I was also attracted to arts and crafts.

Question:
How did you begin your professional career in science? What schools did you attend and how did you end up here in the US doing research and using Alvin?

Anna-Louise:
I attended college at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa where I majored in botany and microbiology. The courses I took in college made me realize that I really wanted to be a scientist. I took a lot of courses in marine and aquatic sciences and studied algae. I went right into graduate school after finishing my bachelor’s degree. I attended the University of Cape Town and did my Ph.D. research on the microbes used in various industrial processes. Companies use microbes all the time to make things. One common example is the use of yeast in making beer. The research work I did involved microbes that were used in making acetone and butanol, two chemicals used in industrial processes, from sugar cane.

In college, I learned to scuba dive and realized that I wanted to have a career where I could combine my love for scientific research with my love for the ocean and sports. I got my Ph.D. in 1987 and decided that I wanted to work on extremophiles. These are microorganisms that live in extreme types of environments such as at very high pressures or high temperature. At that time, considerable work was being done in the US, so in 1988 I got a post-doctoral position with Dr. Jody Deming at the University of Washington in Seattle. There I gained experience isolating hypothermophile microorganisms (microorganisms that live at temperatures greater than 80°C) from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. I participated in my first research cruise in 1988 to the Juan de Fuca Ridge where I made my first dive in Alvin.

Question:
How did you get your current position at Portland State University? How did you become involved in your current research?

Anna-Louise:
I realized in 1990 that one of the keys to looking at extreme microorganisms is identifying them genetically. At that time, medical researchers were using molecular tools to fingerprint and identify organisms. It seemed logical that I should gain that experience. Like many scientists, we often get new scientific insights by using new techniques. Professor Norman Pace at Indiana University was already using molecular tools in his studies of microorganism, so I applied for a research position to work with him. That is when I started looking at microorganisms that inhabit the geysers and hot springs of Yellowstone National Park.

This was fantastic because it helped me combine my love for nature and outdoor activities with my research. I spent five great years working and learning new techniques at Indiana University. Then I went to Rutgers University for three years where there is another research group studying deep-sea vent biology and genetics. Last year, I was fortunate to get a position teaching and doing research in the Department of Environmental Biology at Portland State University. I love Portland and I love my new job. I have realized my dream of living somewhere where I can do exciting research, work with students, and have lots of fun on the ocean.

Question:
What do you most like about your job? What don’t you like?

Anna-Louise:
I am very happy in my job; particularly the combination of doing research that involves fieldwork, and teaching. I do wish I had more time to think about my science and try to synthesize the results. I seem to always be so busy that I rarely sit down and contemplate about science.

Question:
So what are your ocean hobbies? What do you do to relax when you're not looking for weird microorganisms?

Anna-Louise:
I love being outdoors. My dog Saskia and I spend a lot of time hiking in the beautiful Oregon mountains. I also love sailboarding and often go to the Hood River, which is a sailboarding mecca for many people all over the Northwest and the world. I also like pottery and have my own wheel and kiln. I just started this hobby during the past year and I'm still learning all about it. It is great fun and very relaxing.

Question:
What excites you about the science you are doing? What are the key questions that you are trying to answer?

Anna-Louise:
So little is known about microbes in high-temperature environments- what they are doing, how they get their energy and carbon sources, what role they play in the ecosystems they exist in, and how they affect geochemical processes. That’s a life’s work! My continuing work at deep-sea vents and the hot springs at Yellowstone provide ideal environments to test hypotheses about “extreme” microorganisms. While our work at the deep-sea vents requires Alvin to go to the bottom of the ocean, our work in Yellowstone has the advantage of being able to just hike out to the hot springs and take samples. One of my ultimate goals is to have cultures of these microorganisms growing in my lab so that I can begin to run experiments to see how microbes affect minerals. This is a whole new field of research, but I have a suspicion that there is much more interaction between rocks and microorganisms than we currently suspect.

 

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