Alexander Loy’s research covers a diverse spectrum of topics in microbial ecology and symbiosis, from the role of intestinal microbiota in health and disease, to the ecology and evolution of sulfur-compounds-utilising microorganisms. He has long-standing expertise in developing and applying stable isotope-labelling and molecular biology methods for in situ analysis of complex host-associated and environmental microbiota.
Alexander’s group explores how physiological interactions among microbiome members impacts their environment or host. This includes how environmental microbes impact sulfur and carbon cycling, as well as how symbionts and pathogens affect the health and nutrition of their hosts. This knowledge could ultimately translate to development of microbiome-based health interventions. Their current projects focus on microbial sulfur metabolism in wetlands and the intestinal tract, impact of emerging pollutants on human and environmental microbiomes, as well as the development of defined microbial communities for production of new secondary metabolites, such as antibiotics.