Skip to main content
    Kent State University logo
    • Apply
    • Visit
    • Give Now
    • FlashLine Login
    • Calendars
    • Phone Directory
    • Maps & Directions
    • Search
    Brain Health Research Institute
    Menu Search
    • About
      Close
      • About Overview
      • Mission
      • Leadership & Committees
      • Participants & Partners
      • KSU Research Institutes & Initiatives
      • Support the Brain Health Research Institute
      • Directions
    • Research
      Close
      • Research Overview
      • BHRI Research Focus Groups
      • Research Facilities & Collaboratories
      • Neurodiversity Research Initiative (NRI)
    • Members
      Close
      • Members Overview
      • BHRI Member Portals
      • Regular Member Directory
      • Affiliate Member Directory
      • Student Member Directory
      • Alumni Member Directory
    • Funding Opportunities
      Close
      • Funding Opportunities Overview
      • Pilot Grant Program
    • News & Events
      Close
      • News & Events Overview
      • Upcoming Events
      • BHRI Newsletters
      • Brains on Tap
      • Past Seminars/Forums
      • Past Symposia
    • Student Research Opportunities
      Close
      • Student Research Opportunities Overview
      • BHRI Undergraduate Fellows Program
      • Student Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE)
    • FlashLine Login
    • Calendars
    • Phone Directory
    • Maps & Directions
    • Search
    • Apply
    • Visit
    • Give Now
    Live Chat
    Laura G. Leff

    Laura Leff

    Professor and Chair - Biological Sciences
    Campus:
    Kent
    Contact Information
    Email:
    lleff@kent.edu
    Phone:
    330-672-3788
    Fax:
    330-672-3713

    Biography

    Courses Taught

    • Career Pathways
    • Life on Planet Earth 

    Research Interests

    My research focuses on microbial ecology of aquatic ecosystems with emphasis on bacterial ecology of streams. Present projects in my laboratory include: Our lab focuses on examining responses of microorganisms to their environment. Examples of recent projects in the lab include: 

    • Connecting microbial community structure and function
    • Microbial communities of acid mine impacted streams and changes in the community associated with remediation
    • Effects of dissolved organic matter on denitrification in agricultural streams
    • Leaf decomposition in wetlands, streams and terrestrial systems
    • Response of bacteria to nutrients and carbon
    • Impacts of urbanization on bacterial community composition and antibiotic resistance

    In each project, we use a variety of molecular biology techniques and microscopy to examine properties such as bacterial and fungal community structure, gene expression, diversity of denitrification genes, etc.  We seek to integrate the fields of microbiology and ecology.

    Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

    Current and past funding from NSF, NASA, EPA, and other agencies/foundations

    Editor, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2001-2011)

    Editorial Boards, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (1997-1999, 1999-2001), Microbial Ecology (2001-2017), The International Society of Microbial Ecology Journal (2006-2018)

    Recent Publications

    1. Akins, L., Ortiz, J., & Leff, L. G. (2020). Strain-specific responses of toxic and non-toxic Microcystis aeruginosa to exudates of heterotrophic bacteria. Hydrobiologia, 847(1), 75-89.
    2. Van Gray, J. B., Roberto, A. A., & Leff, L. G. (2020). Acute salt stress promotes altered assembly dynamics of nascent freshwater microbial biofilms. Hydrobiologia, 847(11), 2465-2484.
    3. Ayayee, P. A., Taura, J., Roberto, A. A., Blackwood, C. B., & Leff, L. G. (2020). Patterns of Denitrification and Methanogenesis Rates from Vernal Pools in a Temperate Forest Driven by Seasonal, Microbial Functional Gene Abundances, and Soil Chemistry. Wetlands, 1-11.
    4. Hossain, M. R., Jiang, M., Wei, Q., & Leff, L. G. (2019). Microplastic surface properties affect bacterial colonization in freshwater. Journal of basic microbiology, 59(1), 54-61.
    5. Leff, L. G. (2019). Microbial Ecology of Streams. Encyclopedia of Water: Science, Technology, and Society, 1-13.
    6. Roberto, A. A., Van Gray, J. B., Engohang-Ndong, J., & Leff, L. G. (2019). Distribution and co-occurrence of antibiotic and metal resistance genes in biofilms of an anthropogenically impacted stream. Science of the total environment, 688, 437-449.
    7. Akins, L., P. Ayayee and L. G. Leff.  2018. Composition and Diversity of Cyanobacteria-Associated and Free-Living Bacterial Communities During Cyanobacterial Blooms.  Annals of Microbiology, 68:493-503.
    8. Ayayee, P., C. Cosgrove, A. Roberto, A. Beckwith, and L. G. Leff. 2018. Gut bacterial assemblages of freshwater macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups, Hydrobiologia, 822:157-172.
    9. Leff, L. G. 2018.  Freshwater Habitats in Encyclopedia of Microbiology, 4e, accepted.
    10. Lu, X., D. L. Bade, L. G. Leff. and X. Mou. 2018. The Relative Importance of Anammox and Denitrification to Total N2 Production in Lake Erie.  Journal of Great Lakes Research. 822:157-172.
    11. Roberto, A., J. Van Gray and L.G. Leff. 2018. Sediment bacteria in an urban stream: Spatiotemporal patterns in community composition, Water Research, 134: 353-369.
    12. Van Gray, J and L. G. Leff.  2018. Impacts of varying durations of passive oxygen exposure on freshwater denitrifier community structure and function, Aquatic Ecology, 52: 35–49.
    13. Leff, L. G. 2018. Microbial Ecology of Streams. Encyclopedia of Water: Science, Technology, and Society. Wiley.
    14. Ghosh, S., P. Ayayee, Oscar J. Valverde-Barrantes; Christopher Blackwood; Todd V. Royer; Laura G. Leff. 2017, Initial nitrogen enrichment conditions determines variations in nitrogen substrate utilization by heterotrophic bacterial isolates.  BMC Microbiology 17:87 DOI 10.1186/s12866-017-0993-7
    15. Brower, S. L. G. Leff and X. Mou. 2017. Effects of Short and Long-Term Hydrological Regimes on the Composition and Function of Denitrifying Bacteria in Experimental Wetlands. Wetlands, 37:573-583.
    16. Ghosh, S. P. Ayayee, and L. G Leff. 2016.  Response of sediment bacterial communities to temporal variation in the dissolved organic matter pool of an agriculturally impacted stream. Fundamental and Applied Limnology, 188:171-185
    17. Johnston, G. P, D. Lineman, C. G. Johnston, and L. G. Leff. 2015.  Characterization, sources and ecological risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in long-term contaminated riverbank sediments.  Environmental Earth Sciences.  74:3519-3529.

    Education

    Ph.D, University of Georgia

    Affiliations

    • American Society for Microbiology
    • International Society for Microbial Ecology
    • Ecological Society of America
    • Society for Freshwater Science
    Brain Health Research Institute

    Street Address

    1175 Lefton Esplanade
    Kent, OH 44242


    Mailing Address

    800 E. Summit St.
    Kent, OH 44242

    Contact Us

    330-672-1855 brainhealth@kent.edu
    Contact Us
    • 330-672-3000
    • info@kent.edu

    Facebook
    Twitter
    QUICK LINKS
    • Biological Sciences
    • Psychological Sciences
    • School of Biomedical Sciences
    • facebook
    • instagram
    • youtube
    • linkedin
    • TikTok
    • X
    • snapchat
    • ...
    Information
    • Accessibility
    • Annual Security Reports
    • For Our Alumni
    • For the Media
    • Health Services
    • Jobs & Employment
    • Privacy Statement
    • HEERF CARES/CRRSAA/ARP Act Reporting and Disclosure
    • Website Feedback
    Kent State University logo
    © 2025 Kent State University All rights reserved.