Welcome to the Richardson Lab of Applied Microbiology

The Richardson group studies microbial communities of relevance to important environmental engineering problems. Application areas include sustainable water and wastewater treatment, nutrient and greenhouse gas cycling, Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), bioenergy, and environmental DNA monitoring tools. The Richardson Lab toolkit includes various techniques in bioreactor design and application on the applied side to microscopy, genomics (DNA), transcriptomics (RNA) and proteomics on the fundamental end. Common goals in lab projects involve development of appropriate technology for water and wastewater and diagnostic biomarker detection assays and their use to monitoring microbial activities in complex environments. Lab alums go on to work in a mix of academia, industry and government.

Active areas of research are exploring bioreactor designs for sustainable water and wastewater treatment alongside Cornell’s AguaClara Project Team and the NSF Convergence Accelerator- supported VersaWater team. The lab is also developing tools for eDNA comprehesive analysis in the Great Lakes of NY, supported by a NY Sea Grant award. The tool under development tests eDNA for dozens biomarkers of Aquatic Invasive Species, Fecal pollution indicators and Harmful Algal Blooms with the goal of making water quality testing accessible to more communities and to integrate eDNA testing across management sectors. Dr. Richardson values applied and engaged research and has past and ongoing collaborations with external partners especially in NY and Puerto Rico. 

If you want to learn more about our Lab, feel free to explore the website pages. If you have any questions about our work, don’t be afraid to email us at rer26@cornell.edu (Dr. Richardson’s email).