Earth Sciences Division Staff: Ruyang Han

Biographical Summary

I am a postdoctoral fellow working with Dr. Harry Beller and Dr. Eoin Brodie.  My current project focuses on microbial chromium reduction.  For this project, I am doing research on molecular mechanisms of chromium reduction in different bacterial strains under aerobic, denitrifying, sulfate and iron reducing conditions.  I am also involved in metatranscriptomic analysis of microbial communities during chromium bioremediation.  I received my Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics under the supervision of Dr. Gerben Zylstra at Rutgers University in May 2008.  In my Ph.D. study, I determined the gene organization of phthalate degradation in different bacterial strains, analyzed the function of the regulatory gene for phthalate degradation using gene knockout, and measured the gene abundance of phthalate degradative genes in soil sediment.  During the earlier years of my research at Zhejiang University in China, I mainly worked on isolation and characterization of bacterial strains for anaerobic cellulose degradation, ethanol fermentation or hydrocarbon degradation.

Research Projects

• 2008-Present, Anaerobic chromium reduction in different bacterial strains under nitrate, sulfate or iron reducing condition.
• 2008-Present, Metatranscriptomic analysis of microbial communities during anaerobic chromium reduction.
• 2003-2008, Comparative analysis of gene organization and gene regulation for phthalate, isophthalate, terephthalate degradation in different bacterial species.
• 2003, Isolation of reductively dehalogenative anaerobic bacteria from high active enrichment associated with marine sponge.
• 1999-2002, Phenotypic characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of crude oil degrading bacteria.
• 1996-1999, Isolation and identification of anaerobic thermophilic cellulolytic bacteria and cellulose fermentation to produce ethanol.

Education

• Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
  Joint Program of Molecular Biosciences at Rutgers and UMDNJ
  2002 - 2008, Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
• Zhejiang University, China
  1996 - 1999, M.S. in Environmental Microbiology
• Zhejiang Agricultural University, China
  1989 - 1993, B.S. in Plant Protection

Professional Experience

• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CA
  September 2008 - Present, Postdoctoral Fellow in Microbiology
• Biotech Center for Agriculture and the Environment, Rutgers University, NJ
  September 2005 - August 2008; Graduate Assistant
• Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, NJ
  September 2004 - August 2005; Teaching Assistant
• College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, China
  August 1999 - June 2002; Research Associate
• Center for Agricultural Technology Extension, Xiangshan, China
  August 1993 - August 1996; Technician

Awards and Scholarships

• Fall 2006, Ivarson Student Assistant Fund
• Summer 2006, ASM Student Travel Grant
• Fall 2005 - Present, Graduate assistantship
• Fall 2004 - Spring 2005, Teaching Assistantship
• Fall 2003 - Spring 2004, Graduate Assistantship
• Fall 2002 - Spring 2003, H. Boyd and Jeanette I. Woodruff Microbiology Fellowship