Microbes are key players in the global carbon and nutrient cycles, and the engines of ecosystem functions. My research focuses on understanding how microbial communities control soil carbon and nutrient cycling in both natural and agricultural systems, as well as their stability and resilience to climate changes. I am particularly interested in soil organic nitrogen cycling, the regulation of carbon and nitrogen cycling through adjustments in microbial community physiology (microbial carbon and nitrogen use efficiency), and the coupling of microbial carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling during organic matter decomposition. I use a vast range of methods to study soil biogeochemical processes, and I have particular experience in stable isotope-based approaches. Over the past years, I have become increasingly interested in soil health, particularly in the context of soil fertility and sustainable agriculture. At the Bowles Lab, I am currently investigating how crop rotational diversity affects the plant-soil-microbe interactions that underlie beneficial microbiomes and soil health, and how in turn they contribute to greater resilience of crop productivity to droughts and heat waves.