Ludmilla Aristilde Research Group

Northwestern University

How do mineral interfaces and microbial enzymes control transformation and fate of organic nutrients and contaminants in soils? The Aristilde Group combines experiments and computation to investigate catalytic dynamics of extracellular enzymes at water–mineral interfaces and enzyme–mineral regulation. Researchers quantify cellular carbon metabolism and coupled carbon–energy fluxes in environmental bacteria to decode pathways for lignin and polymer carbon utilization. The group benchmarks catalytic parameters for iron-oxide-mediated abiotic reactions relevant to organic phosphorus recycling in soils and sediments. Projects apply metabolomics, mechanistic enzymology, and surface chemistry to inform nutrient cycling and environmental biotechnology.