NOTES ON PEOPLE (12/17/06)

NOTES ON PEOPLE

Scientist lectures around the globe

by Dr. Olga Maria Cehelska

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Dr. George A. Kowalchuk leads a multifaceted research program with emphasis on environmental and rhizosphere microbiology within the department of terrestrial microbial ecology of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology.

Born in New Jersey in 1966, Dr. Kowalchuk has been known for his keen sense of humor since his days as an undergraduate student at Duke University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1988 with a double major in biology and psychology.

He continued his training in molecular biology and microbiology after being awarded a graduate research fellowship to Yale University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1993.

Since his thesis defense, he has been involved in the development and application of the new molecular and genomics approaches to help explore earth's greatest source of biodiversity, the microbial communities inhabiting soil that drive terrestrial ecosystems.

After post-doctoral work at Yale, he moved to the University of Amsterdam as a guest researcher and lecturer. In 1994 he joined the research staff of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology, where he received a tenured position as senior scientist in 1999.

Since February 2005 Dr. Kowalchuk also holds a full professor's chair in plant-microbe interactions at the Free University of Amsterdam within the Institute of Ecological Sciences, where he delivered his inaugural address on October 6, 2005. Recently, he supervised a research team of approximately 12 scientists and recently conducted a sabbatical research project at the University of Adelaide, Australia.

While his work pertains to the serious aspects of the biological methods used to describe the function and evolution of microorganisms in the environment, his lectures and research publications often tickle the scientific funny bone. For example, in 2005 at the annual symposium of the Institute for Ecological Services of the Free University of Amsterdam, as guest speaker his topic was "How do you tap into microbial diversity? Use your roots, of course." His recently published study in microbial ecology is titled "Finding the needles in the meta-genome haystack."

In general, his research is most serious and attempts to delve into the microbial processes that drive the world's ecosystems and sustain life on this planet. His specific research foci include environmental genomics of ecologically relevant micro-organisms, rhizosphere ecology, molecular community analysis of bacterial and fungal communities, microbial diversity in the rhizosphere, interactions between above-ground and below-ground biota, effects of genetically modified plants on soil communities, and roles of plant-microbe interactions in C and N cycling.

Dr. Kowalchuk has published over 50 articles - most with titles not for the faint of heart - which appeared in such scientific journals as Biology and Biochemistry, Mycological Research, and Applied and Environmental Microbiology. There are countless others, some even with titles decipherable for the average layperson, such as "Assessing Soil Ecosystem Responses to GM Plants," which appeared in Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

Prof. Kowalchuk currently serves as editor-in-chief of the Molecular Microbial Ecology Manual and the journal Microbial Ecology. He has recently been named co-editor-in-chief of a new journal to be launched in 2007, as a joint venture between the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) and the Nature Publishing Group, simply titled, The ISME Journal (see www.nature.com.ismej/). He is also on the editorial board of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, FEMS Microbial Ecology and the Journal of Microbiological Methods.

His professional associations include the American Society for Microbiology, the Netherlands Association of Microbiology and the International Society for Microbial Ecology. He holds numerous journal refereeing duties, as well as a large number of grant referring duties. His summary of grants awarded could be a topic for another article.

Dr. Kowalchuk has lectured or conducted research on every continent of the planet, including a project on the effects of global warming conducted in Antarctica and the Antarctic Islands. His international collaborations encompass the United States, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, England, Ireland, Russia, Denmark, France, Austria, Spain, Brazil, China, Wales, Mexico, Scotland, Finland, Italy and Australia.

Currently, Dr. Kowalchuk lives in Amsterdam where, along with his wife Cindy de Visser, he is raising two young sons, Luka, 4 and Max, 3. Dr. Kowalchuk is fluent in English, Dutch and Ukrainian.

As a young boy he was active in Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization and spent many summers at Vocha Tropa in East Chatham, N.Y. He is the son of Roman and Anisia Kowalchuk of Reading, Pa., and the grandson of the late Dr. George Cehelsky of Miami Beach, Fla., and centenarian Michael Kowalchuk, also of Miami Beach.

Student helps Ukraine's orphans

WOONSOCKET, R.I. - On August 4-20, John Charest, 24, of St. Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Woonsocket, R.I., made his third trip in four years to western Ukraine's orphanages in the towns of Zaluchia and Znamianka.

On this mission Natalie Kapeluck-Nixon and the Rev. Deacon Ihor Mahlay coordinated each orphanage to receive eight volunteers who were sponsored by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. and the Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund.

This was the third trip to these orphanages by college-age students who helped with repairs, assisted with physical therapy exercises, played games, conducted a mini Special Olympics and spent as much time as possible with the children.

Mr. Charest hopes to establish a daily session of physical therapy and hopes to expand the program to include more children with a wider diversity of disabilities. Mr. Charest said, "I was encouraged by the progress being made by the staff and the children. I am looking forward to next year's trip and hope to lead a group."

Currently, Mr. Charest is pursuing an education degree at Rhode Island College, where he is student teaching. In addition to his duties as a subdeacon in his parish, Mr. Charest helps with the local Ukrainian dance group, is a church group advisor and aspires to follow his vocation as a priest.

Outside of the Ukrainian community, Mr. Charest is actively involved with sports by coordinating referees for various sports. He also referees soccer matches, and coaches both soccer and hockey teams.

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