Welcome

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Welcome to the Mei Research Group working at the Microbiome-Environment Interface! We investigate fundamental aspects of microbial diversity, physiology, and ecology, applying this knowledge to engineered water systems, such as wastewater treatment. Our goal is to develop microbiology-informed engineering strategies that enhance system performance and mitigate the environmental impact of various waste streams. To achieve our objectives, we integrate bioinformatics, microbiology — including microbial cultivation — and engineering principles. Learn more about our research here.

News

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[2025.6] In his first semester of teaching (CEE 538), Ran has made it onto the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students. Thank you to everyone, both in the classroom and joining from online, for your engagement throughout the semester!

[2025.5] After very hard and smart work, Yuan got the right peaks from our two-line, three-column, three-detector, brand new GC2030 😊 [Click to View]

[2025.4] Dr. Masaru Nobu from JAMSTEC visited us! Welcome back to Newmark! [Click to View]

[2025.3] A proposal about microplastic-degrading algae (Ran as the co-PI), in collaboration with Dr. Himali M. K. Delanka-Pedige (PI, SIU) has been funded by the IIN Sustaining Illinois Seed Grant Program.

[2025.1] A warm welcome to Yuan, the first graduate student to join our group! 😊 [Click to View]

[2024.12] A proposal about novel aeration strategies for wastewater treatment (Ran as the UIUC lead PI), in collaboration with Dr. Jer-Horng Wu (NCKU), Dr. Chang-Ping Yu (NTU), and Dr. Yu-Wei Wu (TMU), has been funded by the UoI/UAAT Joint Research Project.

[2024.11] Ran begins his new journey at Newmark!

[2024.9] Ran attended the 27th Water Research Symposium in Morioka and visited Tohoku U and AIST•Tsukuba to bid farewell to his mentors, colleagues, and friends in Japan. Looking forward to meeting again!

[2024.6] Ran, Dr. Hiroyuki Imachi, and Dr. Masaru Nobu visited the Biogas Institute and Sichuan U.

[2023.12] Our paper, led by Dr. Hirakata, on the isolation of dead cell-degrading bacteria has been published in The ISME Journal.

[2023.9] Ran has joined as a Junior Editor of Letters in Applied Microbiology. We support early-career scientists by providing rapid publication of well-designed studies. Incidentally, this is also where Ran published his M.S. thesis. Consider submitting your work to LAM!

[2023.7] Ran has been funded with the JGI CSP New Investigator Award from the Joint Genome Institute, U.S. DOE.

[2023.2] Our paper, exploring the evolutionary history of methanogenesis, has been published in PNAS Nexus.