Farooq Azam

Last updated
Farooq Azam
Born
Lahore, Pakistan
Nationality Pakistani-American
Alma mater University of Punjab
Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
Scientific career
Fields Marine Biology and Microbiology
Institutions University of California San Diego, United States

Farooq Azam (born in Lahore, Pakistan ) is a researcher in the field of marine microbiology. He is a Distinguished Professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, at the University of California San Diego. [1] Farooq Azam grew up in Lahore and received his early education in Lahore. He attended University of Punjab, where he received his B.Sc. in chemistry. He later he received his M.Sc. from the same institution. He then went to Czechoslovakia for higher studies. He received his PhD in microbiology from the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. After he received his PhD, Farooq Azam moved to California. Azam was the lead author on the paper which coined the term microbial loop. [2] This 1983 paper involved a synthesis between a number of leaders in the (then) young field of microbial ecology, specifically, Azam, Tom Fenchel, J Field, J Gray, L Meyer-Reil and Tron Frede Thingstad.

Contents

In addition to introducing the concept of the microbial loop Azam is responsible for bringing conceptual advances in several areas of marine microbiology. He is a leader in identifying the importance of microscale patchiness in the marine environment, and that bacteria can respond to patchiness in nutrient fields and particulate organic matter. This area of research is now pursued more actively in the field at large with the introduction of advanced digital and single cell imaging. He and then graduate student Kay Bidle also showed that the dissolution of diatom frustules was accelerated by bacteria, as opposed to being a strictly abiotic process as previously thought. [3] He and former post-doctoral researcher Alexandra Worden introduced the concept of Eco-systems Biology in 2004. [4] Eco-systems Biology (or Ecosystems Biology) has since been adopted by the field, empowered by the advent of high-throughput sequencing platforms.

Honors and awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microbial loop</span> Trophic pathway in marine microbial ecosystems

The microbial loop describes a trophic pathway where, in aquatic systems, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is returned to higher trophic levels via its incorporation into bacterial biomass, and then coupled with the classic food chain formed by phytoplankton-zooplankton-nekton. In soil systems, the microbial loop refers to soil carbon. The term microbial loop was coined by Farooq Azam, Tom Fenchel et al. in 1983 to include the role played by bacteria in the carbon and nutrient cycles of the marine environment.

The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), formerly known as the Limnological Society of America and the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, is a scientific society established in 1936 with the goal of advancing the sciences of limnology and oceanography. With approximately 4,000 members in nearly 60 different countries, ASLO is the largest scientific society, worldwide, devoted to either limnology or oceanography or both.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Picoeukaryote</span> Picoplanktonic eukaryotic organisms 3.0 µm or less in size

Picoeukaryotes are picoplanktonic eukaryotic organisms 3.0 µm or less in size. They are distributed throughout the world's marine and freshwater ecosystems and constitute a significant contribution to autotrophic communities. Though the SI prefix pico- might imply an organism smaller than atomic size, the term was likely used to avoid confusion with existing size classifications of plankton.

The G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award is an award granted annually by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography to a mid-career scientist for work accomplished during the preceding 5–10 years for excellence in any aspect of limnology or oceanography. The award is named in honor of the ecologist and limnologist G. Evelyn Hutchinson. Hutchinson requested that recipients of the award have made considerable contributions to knowledge, and that their future work promise a continuing legacy of scientific excellence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antje Boetius</span> German biologist (born 1967)

Antje Boetius is a German marine biologist. She is a professor of geomicrobiology at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, University of Bremen. Boetius received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize in March 2009 for her study of sea bed microorganisms that affect the global climate. She is also the director of Germany's polar research hub, the Alfred Wegener Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandra Worden</span> American microbiologist

Alexandra (Alex) Z. Worden is a microbial ecologist and genome scientist known for her expertise in the ecology and evolution of ocean microbes and their influence on global biogeochemical cycles.

Tron Frede Thingstad is a Norwegian scientist. Professor Thingstad is leading a research group on marine microbiology at the Department of Biology, University of Bergen. His work has facilitated understanding the role of microbes in marine ecosystems, including the microbial loop.

Alice Alldredge is an American oceanographer and marine biologist who studies marine snow, carbon cycling, microbes and plankton in the ecology of the ocean. She has been one of the most cited scientific researchers since 2003.

Louis Legendre is a Canadian-trained oceanographer whose later career took him to France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viral shunt</span>

The viral shunt is a mechanism that prevents marine microbial particulate organic matter (POM) from migrating up trophic levels by recycling them into dissolved organic matter (DOM), which can be readily taken up by microorganisms. The DOM recycled by the viral shunt pathway is comparable to the amount generated by the other main sources of marine DOM.

Bess Ward is an American oceanographer, biogeochemist, microbiologist, and William J. Sinclair Professor of Geosciences at Princeton University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Elser</span> American ecologist and limnologist

James Elser is an American ecologist and limnologist. He is Director & Bierman Professor of Ecology, Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana and research professor, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University. He is known for his work in ecological stoichiometry. In 2019, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Lawrence Richards Pomeroy was a zoologist, ecologist, and oceanographer.

Craig Alexander Carlson is an American oceanographer. He is a founding co-editor of the Annual Review of Marine Science and a recipient of the 2015 G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award.

Yvette Hardman Edmondson was the editor of Limnology and Oceanography the premier journal of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography and was an aquatic scientist known for her research on bacteria in aquatic systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtis A. Suttle</span> Canadian microbiologist

Curtis A. Suttle is a Canadian microbiologist and oceanographer who is a faculty member at the University of British Columbia. Suttle is a Distinguished University Professor who holds appointments in Earth & Ocean Sciences, Botany, Microbiology & Immunology and the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. On 29 December, 2021 he was named to the Order of Canada. His research is focused on the ecology of viruses in marine systems as well as other natural environments.

Susanne Menden-Deuer is an oceanographer and marine scientist known for her work on marine food webs, including their structure and function. As of 2022, she is president-elect of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans W. Paerl</span> American professor

Hans W. Paerl is a Dutch American limnologist and a Kenan Professor of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) Institute of Marine Sciences. His research primarily assesses microbially-mediated nutrient cycling, primary production dynamics, and the consequences of human impacts on water quality and sustainability in waters around the world.

Helle Ploug is marine scientist known for her work on particles in seawater. She is a professor at the University of Gothenburg, and was named a fellow of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mina Bizic</span> Environmental microbiologist with particular interest in aquatic systems

Mina Bizic is an environmental microbiologist with particular interest in aquatic systems. She is mostly known for her work on organic matter particles and oxic methane production. She was named a fellow of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) in 2022, and is serving on the ASLO board of directors where she is chairing the Early Career Committee.

References

  1. ↑ "Bio, Farooq Azam". Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  2. ↑ Azam F, Fenchel T, Field JG, Gray JS, Meyer-Reil LA, Thingstad F. (1983). “The ecological role of water-column microbes in the sea”. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 10: 257-263
  3. ↑ Regulation of oceanic silicon and carbon preservation by temperature control on bacteria. Bidle KD1, Manganelli M, Azam F. Science. 2002 Dec 6;298(5600):1980-4.
  4. ↑ Oceanography. Microbes, molecules, and marine ecosystems. Azam F, Worden AZ. Science. 2004 Mar 12;303(5664):1622-4.
  5. ↑ ASLO Award Recipient Talks, Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. Accessed September 1, 2010.
  6. ↑ G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award, Archived 2009-08-28 at the Wayback Machine American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. Accessed September 1, 2010.
  7. 1 2 Scripps Oceanography Microbiologist Receives Honors, University of California at San Diego news release, June 2, 2004. Accessed September 1, 2004
  8. ↑ Awards. International Society for Microbial Ecology. Accessed September 1, 2010
  9. ↑ Memorial lectures Archived 2010-07-05 at the Wayback Machine , Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University. Accessed September 1, 2010
  10. ↑ G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award, Archived 2009-08-28 at the Wayback Machine American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. Accessed September 1, 2010. Award citation: "in recognition of his seminal contributions to our knowledge of fundamental processes in the sea, and particularly for his central role in the development of the concept of the 'microbial loop'".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.