Education

• Ph.D. Marine Microbiology and Microbial Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
• M.S. Marine Chemistry, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao China
• B.S. Chemistry, Qingdao University, Qingdao China

Courses Taught

• Microbial Ecology

Course Summary: The course covers a numbergeneral aspects of microbial ecology, including analytical methods,biogeochemical cycling of C, N, P and other essential elements,  microbialcommunities and their roles in the marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments.

• Marine Biology

Course Summary: To learn general knowledgeabout marine environments and organisms that live there. At the end of thecourse students are expected to be (1) familiar with marine organisms and theecological interactions occur within major types of marine environments, (2)gain experience in interpretation and synthesis through participation in thediscussion of scientific papers and the writing of research paper summaries,(3) have awareness of the importance of world's oceans, including as homes fornumerous lives, sources of food, major suppliers of oxygen and regulator ofglobal climate.

• ST: Ecological Genomics

CourseSummary: This course aims to provide advanced undergraduate andgraduate material on ecological genomics of soil and aquatic microbes andemphasizes on integration of genomics concepts into microbial ecology andbiogeochemistry. At the end of the course students are expected to be (1)familiar with principles and concepts in ecological genomics and (2) gainexperience in analyzing and interpreting genomic, metagenomic andmetatranscriptomic data.

• General Microbiology

CourseSummary: This course serves as a major's level introductory course for studentsto obtain necessary background to support their further education inmicrobiology and other related fields, such as environmental science andmedicine. At the end of the course, students are expected to (1)gain an understanding of the broad diversity ofmicroorganisms, (2)To understand how microbial cells function, (3) understandhow microorganisms interact with their environment (4) understand the role ofmicroorganisms in human society including benefits and disease, and (5) develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.

• Individual Investigation

Course Summary: Undergraduates of biology can perform individual investigation in projects related to microbial ecology and environmental microbiology under the advising of Dr. Mou. Students should contact their Dr. Mou for information and discuss potential research projects. Students may then enroll in BSCI 20196 (Introduction to Individual Investigation) or 40196 (Individual Investigation)

Current Research

Research in Mou lab focuses on linking bacterial phylogeny with their metabolic functions in natural aquatic environments. This direct linkage is important to understand fundamental questions in an ecological/environmental context, such as the role of bacteria in biogeochemical cycling of essential nutrients, e.g., carbon, nitrogen and sulfur. Experimental matagenomics coupled with bioinformatics are employed as the core approach to simultaneously identify the taxonomic diversity, genetic capability, and metabolic activity of selected taxonomic and functional groups of aquatic bacteria. Other advanced molecular biology techniques, such as T-RFLP, DGGE, qPCR, RT-PCR, CARD-FISH, and flow cytometry (FACS), and cultivation-based studies, such as whole genome micorarray,, are also regularly employed..Specific research interests and ongoing projects in Mou Lab include:

• Bacterial transformation of dissolved organic nitrogen (polyamines) in marine and freshwater environments.
• Bacterially mediated N removal (denitrification and anammox) in marine and fresheater environments.
• Role of heterotrohpic bacteria in detoxifying cyanotoxins synthesized during cyanobacterial harmful Algal Blooms (CyanoHABs) in Lake Erie and other inland freshwater lakes.
• Ecological genomics of individual bacterial taxa in marine systems.
• Linkage of biogeochemical cycling of organic carbon and nitrogen between terriestrial and aquatic ecosystems