John Stolz received his BS degree in biology from Fordham University in 1977. He earned his PhD from Boston University in 1984 in microbial ecology and evolution studying community structure in stratified microbial mats. He then took a position as an NRC Post doctoral fellow at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Visiting Faculty in the Department of Geology and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, where he studied magnetotatic bacteria and biomagnetism. This was followed by an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Plant Biology in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he studied photosynthesis in green bacteria. Joining the faculty at Duquesne University in 1990 he continued research on microbial community structure and began studies on anaerobic respiration. He received the Bayer School Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 1996 and 2008, and Excellence in Service in 2014. He received the Presidents Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 1997 and 2008, and Excellence in Service in 2014. He was appointed the Nobel J. Dick Endowed Chair for Community Outreach in 2015.
Contact Information
Biography
Education
- NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Massachusetts
- NRC Research Associate, California Institute of Technology
- Ph.D. Biology, Boston University, 1984
- B.S. Biology, Fordham University, 1977
Research Interests or Expertise
I am interested in both fundamental questions in microbial ecology as well as the application of unique microbial species for bioremediation. There are three major areas of interest in my lab:1) the ecophysiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology of dissimilatory metal reducing bacteria, 2) the ecophysiology of phototrophic prokaryotes and 3) the environmental impacts and microbiology of unconventional shale gas extraction. In the first area, I am investigating the reductases and electron transport system of several dissimilatory metalloid reducing bacteria. Respiration using alternative terminal electron acceptors such as arsenic and selenium oxyanions is a relatively new discovery. Ongoing studies include the characterization of the arsenic metabolism in the chemolithoautotroph Alkalilimnicol ehrlichii, selenium oxyanion reduction by Bacillus selenitireducens and Sulfurospirillum barnesii, and the biotransformation of inorganic arsenic and organoarsenicals. The second area involves research on community structure and biogenesis of modern marine stromatolites in the Bahamas and Shark Bay, Australia. The third area involves well water quality testing, GIS base mapping, and microbiological testing of fluids associated with Marcellus shale. The lab is currently funded by grants from the Heinz Endowments and Colcom Foundation.