Cristina Takacs-Vesbach (born 1968) is an American microbial ecologist conducting research on the productivity, diversity, and function of microbial communities living at the two extremes of temperature found on Earth-

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

's McMurdo Dry Valleys and

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

's thermal springs.

Early life and education

Takacs-Vesbach was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in 1968 and raised in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

. Originally, she had a fascination with

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

, but after a sophomore-level course in

biogeography Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, ...

, taught by Dr. Alex Cruz at

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

, she was drawn to biology. She graduated in 1991 from CU Boulder with a degree in Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology. Takacs-Vesbach developed a passion for microbial ecology in Dr. Brad Tebo's laboratory at

Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for oceanography, ocean and Earth science research ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, CA in 1994. Interested in microbial thermophiles of Yellowstone National Park research, she joined Dr. John Priscu's laboratory at Montana State University in 1994. Takacs-Vesbach spent three field seasons in the McMurdo Dry Valleys as a graduate student, including one WinFly season. Takacs-Vesbach was one of two US women who were the first to spend WinFly in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. She completed her dissertation research on the factors affecting bacterioplankton biomass and productivity in Antarctic lakes 1999, graduating with a PhD in Microbial Ecology with a minor concentration in Biochemistry from

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...

Career and impact

Following graduation, Takacs-Vesbach took a three-year postdoctoral position with Dr. Anna-Louise Reysenbach at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

where she conducted research on the

thermophile A thermophile is an organism—a type of extremophile—that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between . Many thermophiles are archaea, though they can be bacteria or fungi. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earl ...

s of Yellowstone National Park. In 2002, Takacs-Vesbach joined the faculty of the Department of Biology at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

, awarded tenure in 2009 and promoted to full Professor in 2015. Takacs-Vesbach's contributions to Antarctic science have been in the field of microbial ecology. Until her doctoral research on bacterioplankton biomass and productivity in the lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, bacterioplankton were considered unimportant. She used a forward difference model to show that not only are bacteria significant to the biomass of these lakes, but that substantial predation occurs every season to reduce bacterial biomass by up to 88% at the height of the growing season. Further work by Takacs-Vesbach in this system included estimates of bacterioplankton organic carbon demand and respiration rates. Takacs-Vesbach also contributed to the description of the first microbiological study of sub-glacial Lake Vostok. Along with her colleagues, Takacs-Vesbach reported the presence and activity of bacteria associated with the accretion ice >4 km below the surface of the Antarctic polar plateau. This provided evidence that life may exist in inhospitable settings, which opened the possibility that other planetary bodies, such as

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

or Enceladus, may harbor life today. It is only in the past few years that Lake Vostok and other similar subglacial lakes finally have been sampled, confirming the initial findings of Takacs-Vesbach and her colleagues that life can exist in the deep icy subsurface of Antarctica. Takacs-Vesbach’s Antarctic research focuses on the microbial diversity across various aquatic and soil habitats of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Her work revealed microbial diversity in this system can be as high as temperate and tropical soils, and although activity is low, it is the highest reported activity per g of soil carbon. Takacs-Vesbach is interested in determining the spatial and temporal variations of microbial diversity, distribution, and function across all major McMurdo Dry Valley habitats, including

cryoconite Cryoconite is powdery windblown dust made of a combination of small rock particles, soot and microbes which is deposited and builds up on snow, glaciers, or ice caps. The darkening, especially from small amounts of soot, absorbs solar radiation me ...

s, streams, lakes, and soils. Takacs-Vesbach was a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Development of a Strategic Vision for the

U.S. Antarctic Program The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has presence in the A ...

and a member of the U.S. National Committee for the

International Polar Year The International Polar Years (IPY) are collaborative, international efforts with intensive research focus on the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor in 1875, but died before it first occurred i ...

Awards and honors

Takacs-Vesbach received the Outstanding Performance in a Doctoral Program Award during 1999 from the Montana State University Foundation, Bozeman. This competition is an annual university-wide competition among doctoral degree students. In 1995-1999, she received the NASA-Montana Space Grant Fellowship from the Montana Space Grant Consortium, Bozeman. This grant came from a statewide competition offering a full scholarship and stipend for doctoral students, awarded to 2-3 students. During 1995 and 1996, she received the Leopold Schepp Foundation Scholarship from the Leopold Schepp Foundation which is a national competition that recognizes students based on ability and character.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Takacs-Vesbach, Cristina 1968 births Living people People from New Jersey American ecologists Women ecologists American women scientists American Antarctic scientists Women Antarctic scientists 21st-century American women University of New Mexico faculty