Marcela is an environmental microbiologist interested in how microorganisms adapt to and function in natural environments, and how they contribute to global biogeochemical cycles. Her research combines environmental microbiology, microbial ecology and genomics to investigate the diversity, metabolism and function of microorganisms in soils.
Marcela completed her PhD in 2010 and subsequently held research positions in Germany and the UK, including at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg and the Thünen Institute of Biodiversity in Braunschweig. After a short postdoctoral position at the University of Southampton, she joined the University of East Anglia, where she became a research group leader in 2021, supported by a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship. In 2026, Marcela joined the University of Birmingham as an Associate Professor and 125th Anniversary Fellow.
Marcela's research currently focuses on two interconnected areas. The first is understanding the microorganisms responsible for the oxidation of trace gases, particularly carbon monoxide and methane, and their contribution to carbon cycling. She is particularly interested in volcanic and Arctic soils, where microorganisms can possess unusual metabolic capabilities. She has participated in field campaigns in volcanic environments in Chile and Italy, as well as in the Arctic, combining environmental sampling with stable-isotope probing, metagenomics and molecular approaches to identify active microbial communities and determine their metabolic functions and substrate preferences.
The second area of Marcela's research examines antimicrobial resistance in natural soil ecosystems. She investigates the diversity and pre-existence of antimicrobial resistance genes in soils and how environmental conditions influence their distribution and persistence. This work aims to improve understanding of the environmental reservoir of antimicrobial resistance and its role in the wider spread of resistance.
Across these research areas, Marcela's work seeks to understand how microorganisms survive and function under challenging environmental conditions and how their activities influence the cycling of globally important elements and compounds. She is particularly interested in combining field-based research with genomic and experimental approaches to uncover the ecological and metabolic roles of microorganisms that remain poorly understood.