Dr. Li Zhao

Biography

Li Zhao is a Postdoctoral fellow at Umeå Marine Sciences Centre, focusing on the structural and functional responses of microbial communities to climate change in the Baltic Sea. Li's research aims to elucidate the effects of increased dissolved organic matter on microbial community composition and to establish connections between key microbial functional genes and their expression under varying DOM conditions. This work is critical as projections indicate that river inflow and runoff will increase in the coming century, bringing significant amounts of allochthonous dissolved organic matter into marine ecosystems. Understanding how dissolved organic matter—a vital energy source for microbial metabolism—affects microbial community dynamics will help clarify its role in driving ecosystem changes. Li has been involved in various research projects, including investigating microbial communities as indicators of environmental quality and tracking pollutants, as well as adapting coastal microorganisms to environmental change through DNA metabarcoding.

Research Interests