Prof. Dr Kirsten Küsel appointed to the Leopoldina

Professor of Aquatic Geomicrobiology at the University of Jena: Prof. Dr Kirsten Küsel. Image: Svea Pietschmann

Microbiologist Prof. Dr Kirsten Küsel has been admitted to the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina—National Academy of Sciences.

Prof. Küsel's election recognizes her internationally outstanding scientific achievements in the subject area of microbial ecology as well as her long-standing commitment to interdisciplinary cutting-edge research.

Her research centres on microbial communities in soils, waters and deep underground—in particular their role in biogeochemical material cycles and their response to environmental changes. She has made a significant contribution to opening up habitats that are difficult to access, such as aquifers, using innovative molecular biological and geochemical methods. Her work makes important contributions to the understanding of the deep biosphere and the ecological significance of microbial processes for the environment and climate.

Since her appointment at the University of Jena in 2004, Kirsten Küsel has built up an internationally visible research programme and initiated groundbreaking interdisciplinary projects. She is the spokesperson for the AquaDiva collaborative research centres, founding director of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research iDiv and spokesperson for the Cluster of Excellence  "Balance of the Microverse", which researches the stability and controllability of microbial networks - with applications in the environment, Medicine and biotechnology.

Founded in 1652 and based in Halle (Saale), the Leopoldina is the oldest scientific and medical learned society in the world. Since its appointment as the National Academy of Sciences in 2008, it has provided advisory consultations to politics and society on scientific issues of the future—independently, in the public interest and at the highest professional level. New members are appointed solely on the basis of their scientific excellence.

"Being elected to the Leopoldina is a great honour for me and a confirmation of the importance of interdisciplinary research in microbiology," says Kirsten Küsel. "I am very much looking forward to being able to contribute even more to scientific exchange at national and international level in the future."

With her admission to the Leopoldina, Prof Küsel becomes part of an international network of leading scientists who are committed—in keeping with the Academy's motto—"for the benefit of man and nature".