Dr. Patrick Thieringer

Assistant Professor of Biology

Bio

Dr. Patrick Thieringer is an Assistant Professor of Biology with a background in microbial ecology and bioinformatics. Prior to joining Marist, his PhD dissertation work focused on identifying unique methanogenic archaea from a subsurface serpentinized environment – collecting samples from a Mars analog field site. His work from there encompassed pangenomic analyses to observe metabolic and niche adaptation strategies under extreme environmental conditions. His postdoctoral work shifted towards the marine “subsurface” by using long-read sequencing data to study population biology genetics of ammonia-oxidizing archaea in the deep ocean. This work was combined with laboratory experiments to cultivate representative microorganisms under these high hydrostatic conditions using custom built pressure chambers, as well as cruise work to perform nitrification rate experiments mimicking different depths in the water column. Altogether, Dr. Thieringer’s work is driven by understanding the microbial ecology and population-level dynamics of microorganisms in a diverse set of environments.

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow, Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara (2023-2025)
PhD, Environmental Engineering Science, Colorado School of Mines (2023)
BA, Geoscience, Music (minor), Skidmore College (2016)

 

Research Interests / Areas of Focus

My research is field-work driven with efforts to study microbial interactions through a combination of field observations with molecular biological and cultivation techniques within the lab. Ultimately, the downstream application is to incorporate sequencing data to analyze the microbial community, their metabolisms, and understand their genetic diversity to inform on ecological and evolutionary trajectories. My research and teaching with students are driven by a mixture of basic and applied scenarios, offering the opportunity to apply our knowledge in a context relevant to our everyday anthropogenic interactions.

Keywords: geomicrobiology, bioinformatics, marine microbiology, population dynamics, archaea

Selected Publications

Li M, Thieringer PH, Bayer B, Kellom M, Santoro AE 2024. “Genome sequence of Nitrosopumilus adriaticus CCS1 assembled from an ammonia-oxidizing enrichment culture.” Microbial Resource Anouncements 0: e00692-24.

Rasmussen KL, Thieringer PH, Nevadomski S, Martinez AM, Dawson KS, Coresetti FA, Zheng XY, Lv Y, Chen X, Celestian AJ, Berelson WM, Rollins NE, Spear JS 2024. “Living to Lithified: Construction and Preservation of Silicified Biomarkers.” Geobiology 22 (5)

Thieringer PH, Boyd ES, Templeton AS, Spear JR. 2023. “Insights into pH adaptation and energy utilization from metapangenomic investigation in the subsurface serpentinizing environment of the Samail Ophiolite, Oman” Frontiers in Microbiology (14) 1205558

Shaffer J, Spear JR, Rasmussen KL, Thieringer PH. 2023. “Tackling the STEM Skills Gap in 3 Weeks” Inside Higher Ed.

Colman DR, Kraus EA, Thieringer PH, Rempfert K, Templeton AS, Spear JR, Boyd ES. 2022. “Deep-branching acetogens in serpentinized subsurface fluids of Oman.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (42) e22068545119

Thieringer PH, Honeyman AS, Spear JR. 2021. “Spatial and temporal constraints on the composition of microbial communities in subsurface boreholes of the Edgar Experimental Mine”. Microbiology Spectrum, 9:e00631-21.

Awards

Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation (2018-2023)

Image of Marist University's Patrick Thieringer.

Contact Information

Academic School

School of Science

Office

Donnelly 262

Email

Patrick.Thieringer@marist.edu

Phone

845-575-3000 ext. 2095