This video shows a timelapse of iron-cycling microbial enrichment cultures. 1 frame=12 hours. © 2023 by Isabel R. Baker.
Welcome! I’m Dr. Izzy Baker.
I am a geobiologist and postdoctoral fellow based out of Johns Hopkins University.
I study how life and Earth interact, focusing on the co-evolution of microbes and the chemistry of our oceans, and what that means for habitability here and elsewhere, past and present.
Research
My research largely centers around microbial interactions with one of Earth’s most abundant and biologically important elements—iron. The amount and availability of iron has changed dramatically over Earth history, and with it, so have the biological mechanisms to transform iron for energy and nutrition. In my research, I use the interactions between biology and iron as a model for the broader co-evolution of life and our planet. In studying the evolutionary responses to environmental fluxes on short-term and geologic timescales, my goal is to not only yield insight into the rich history of life on Earth, but also to inform forecasts about biological responses to continuing global change.
About Izzy
I received my PhD from the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, doing scientific research under the guidance of Professor Peter Girguis.
Shortly thereafter, I accepted a role as a federal Research Biologist in the Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, where I worked on efforts related to bioremediation and bioelectricity.
I’ve since moved on to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, where I am an Agouron Postdoctoral Fellow working in Professor Maya Gomes’ Comparative Geobiology Laboratory. I also work on an Air Force-funded project with Professor Jocelyne DiRuggiero in the Hopkins Biology Department.
