Penny HAN, 韓平

Microbial processes drive the global biogeochemical nitrogen cycle, underpinning essential ecosystem services. Key transformations like nitrification and anammox critically impact agricultural productivity, greenhouse gas emissions (especially N2O), wastewater treatment efficiency, coastal eutrophication, and overall ecosystem health. Understanding the microbes catalyzing these processes, their physiology, and their responses to environmental change is fundamental to addressing challenges in climate change mitigation, food security, water quality, and sustainable resource recovery. Targeted research areas & applications of interest include: - Fundamental Microbial Ecology & Physiology of Nitrogen Cycling Discovery and characterization of novel microorganisms and metabolisms in diverse environments (marine, coastal, soil, Antarctic, engineered). - Response of Microbial Nitrogen Cycling to Environmental Stressors Understanding impacts of climate change factors, microplastics, and emerging contaminants on nitrification, N2O production, and nitrogen flux, especially in coastal and marine systems. - Climate Change Mitigation Elucidating microbial controls on greenhouse gas (N2O) production during nitrogen transformations. - Bioremediation & Wastewater Treatment Developing and optimizing microbial processes (e.g., leveraging nitrifiers, anammox) for efficient nitrogen removal, pollutant biotransformation, and sustainable wastewater treatment.

[2026] Ammonia-oxidizing archaea as dominant and active ammonia oxidizers in agricultural soils from Yangtze River estuary by DNA-SIP. Tang, X., Guo, L., Hua, S., Zhao, X., Zhang, T., Guo, X., Han, P., Xue, C. & Yuan, J., 1 Jan 2026, In: International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation, 206, 106203. [2026] Impact of human activities on groundwater biogeochemical cycles and microbial communities: Insights from metagenomic analysis. Chen, Z., Tang, X., Su, Y., Liu, T., Klümper, U., Ju, F., Liu, M. & Han, P., 15 Apr 2026, In: Water Research, 294, 11 p., 125493. [2026] Microplastics promote N2O emissions by enhancing nitrification via ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in estuarine and coastal sediments. Tang, X. (Co-first Author), Bao, Y. (Co-first Author), Li, J., Liu, B., Huang, Y., Hou, L., Lee,