I am interested in marine prokaryotes (Bacteria and Archaea) and their distributions and functional role in the ocean. I have a wide background in oceanography, ecology and microbiology and I focus on the interaction of prokaryotes and biogeochemical cycles, especially of heterotrophic prokaryotes and the carbon cycle. I analyze the metabolic rates of microorganisms (production, respiration, growth) as well as their taxonomic diversity, using several molecular techniques (CARD-FISH, metagenomics). Currently, my work seeks to relate the distribution patterns of microbes to the environmental gradients of the Red Sea.​​​ I am also quite interested in bioinformatics and large scale data analysis, and I am particularly fond of the use of open source resources such as R.