{"682906":{"#nid":"682906","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Joel Kostka re\u00adceives Hum\u00adboldt Re\u00adsearch Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThis week, Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/kostkalab\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJoel Kostka\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E was awar\u00added the pres\u00adti\u00adgi\u00adous\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.humboldt-foundation.de\/en\/apply\/sponsorship-programmes\/humboldt-research-award\u0022\u003EHumboldt Research Award\u003C\/a\u003E by the Al\u00adex\u00adan\u00adder von Hum\u00adboldt Found\u00ada\u00adtion\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.humboldt-foundation.de\/en\/explore\/newsroom\/press-releases\/humboldt-foundations-annual-meeting-and-reception-with-federal-president-steinmeier-3\u0022\u003Eduring its annual meeting\u003C\/a\u003E and reception with Germany\u2019s Federal President Steinmeier in Berlin. Every year, the Foundation grants up to 100 Humboldt Research Awards worldwide, which recognize internationally leading researchers of all disciplines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe award\u2019s \u20ac80,000 endowment will support a research trip to Germany for up to a year \u2014 during which Kostka will collaborate with Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mpi-bremen.de\/en\/Biogeochemistry-Group\/People\/Marcel-Kuypers.html\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMar\u00adcel Kuypers\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, director of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mpi-bremen.de\/en\/Home.html\u0022\u003EMax Planck In\u00adsti\u00adtute for Mar\u00adine Mi\u00adcro\u00adbi\u00ado\u00adlogy\u003C\/a\u003E in Bre\u00admen, Germany \u2014 to as\u00adsess the role of mar\u00adine plant mi\u00adcro\u00adbi\u00ado\u00admes in coastal mar\u00adine eco\u00adsys\u00adtem health and climate re\u00adsi\u00adli\u00adence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EKostka, who holds joint appointments in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/joel-kostka\u0022\u003ESchool of Bio\u00adlo\u00adgical Sci\u00adences\u003C\/a\u003E and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/people\/kostka-joel\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, is also the as\u00adso\u00adci\u00adate chair for re\u00adsearch in Bio\u00adlo\u00adgical Sci\u00adences. He was\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/joel-kostka-named-director-georgia-tech-georgias-tomorrow\u0022\u003E\u200b\u200brecently named the inaugural faculty director\u003C\/a\u003E of\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/new-center-science-georgias-tomorrow\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech for Georgia\u0027s Tomorrow\u003C\/a\u003E. The new Center, announced by the College of Sciences in December 2024, will drive research aimed at improving life across the state of Georgia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWetlands in a changing climate\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cHuman population is centered on coastlines, and coastal ecosystems provide many services for people,\u201d Kostka says. \u201cAlthough they cover less than 1 percent of the ocean, coastal wetlands store over 50 percent of the seafloor\u2019s rich carbon reserves.\u201d But researchers aren\u2019t sure how these ecosystems will respond to a changing climate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EMicrobes may be the key. Microbes play a critical role in maintaining plant health and helping them adapt to stressors, Kostka says. Similar to human bodies, plants have microbiomes: a community of microbes intimately associated with the plant that help it take up nutrients, stimulate the plant\u2019s immune system, and regulate plant hormones.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cOur research indicates that plant microbiomes are fundamental to wetland ecosystem health, yet almost everything we know about them is from agricultural systems,\u201d he adds. \u201cWe know very little about the microbes associated with these important marine plants that dominate coastal ecosystems.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EKostka\u2019s work in Germany will investigate how microbiomes help coastal marine plants adapt to stress and keep them healthy. From there, he will investigate how plant microbiomes contribute to the carbon and nutrient cycles of coastal ecosystems \u2014 and how they contribute to ecosystem resilience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExpanding collaboration \u2014 and insights\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EOne goal of the collaboration is to exchange information on two types of marine plants that dominate coastal ecosystems worldwide: those associated with seagrass meadows and salt marshes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve investigated salt marsh plants in the intertidal zone between tides, and my colleagues at the Max Planck Institute have focused on seagrass beds and seagrass meadows, which are subtidal, below the tides,\u201d Kostka says. \u201cWhile these two ecosystems have some different characteristics, they both cover large areas of the global coastline and are dominated by salt-tolerant plants.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIn salt marshes, Kostka has shown that marine plants have symbiotic microbes in their roots that help them to take up nitrogen and deal with stress by removing\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/experts\/sulfur-oxidation-and-reduction-are-coupled-nitrogen-fixation-roots-salt-marsh-foundation\u0022\u003Etoxic sulfides\u003C\/a\u003E. He suspects that these plant-microbe interactions are critical to the resilience of coastal ecosystems. \u201cThe Max Planck Institute made similar observations in seagrass meadows as we did in salt marshes,\u201d Kostka explains. \u201cBut they found different bacteria.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Georgia to Germany\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EBeyond supporting excellence in research, another key goal of the Humboldt Research Award is to support international collaboration \u2014 something very familiar to Kostka. \u201cI\u0027ve been working with Professor Kuypers and the Max Planck Institute in Bremen for many years,\u201d he says, adding that he completed his postdoctoral research at the Institute. \u201cMax Planck\u0027s labs are some of the best in the world for what they do, and their imaging technology can give us an unprecedented look at plant-microbe interactions at the cellular level.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThis project is also special because I am collaborating with other scientists in northern Germany,\u201d Kostka adds. \u201cThe University of Bremen is home to the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.marum.de\/en\/index.html\u0022\u003ECen\u00adter for Mar\u00adine En\u00advir\u00adon\u00admental Sci\u00adences\u003C\/a\u003E (MARUM), which is designated as a Cluster of Excellence by the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.dfg.de\/en\u0022\u003EGerman National Science Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E, so there are a number of fantastic research centers in Bremen to work with.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EHis hope is that this project will deepen collaboration between the research at Georgia Tech and research in Germany. \u201cI look forward to seeing what we can uncover about these critical systems while working together.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe award will support Kostka\u2019s research on the role of marine plant microbiomes in coastal climate resilience in collaboration with Germany\u2019s Max Planck Institute.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The award will support Kostka\u2019s research on the role of marine plant microbiomes in coastal climate resilience in collaboration with Germany\u2019s Max Planck Institute."}],"uid":"35599","created_gmt":"2025-06-26 17:04:12","changed_gmt":"2025-06-26 21:08:14","author":"sperrin6","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-06-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-06-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677294":{"id":"677294","type":"image","title":"Professor\u00a0Joel Kostka at the Al\u00adex\u00adan\u00adder von Hum\u00adboldt Found\u00ada\u00adtion\u00a0annual meeting and reception in Germany this week.","body":"\u003Cp\u003EProfessor\u0026nbsp;Joel Kostka at the Al\u00adex\u00adan\u00adder von Hum\u00adboldt Found\u00ada\u00adtion\u0026nbsp;annual meeting and reception in Germany this week.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1750971890","gmt_created":"2025-06-26 21:04:50","changed":"1750971890","gmt_changed":"2025-06-26 21:04:50","alt":"Professor\u00a0Joel Kostka at the Al\u00adex\u00adan\u00adder von Hum\u00adboldt Found\u00ada\u00adtion\u00a0annual meeting and reception in Germany this week.","file":{"fid":"261178","name":"Humboldt---Joel-Kostka---web.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/06\/26\/Humboldt---Joel-Kostka---web.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/06\/26\/Humboldt---Joel-Kostka---web.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":801832,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/06\/26\/Humboldt---Joel-Kostka---web.jpg?itok=7jfMRjYH"}}},"media_ids":["677294"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"192254","name":"cos-climate"},{"id":"194631","name":"cos-georgia"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"193653","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWritten by Selena Langner\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EContact: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto: jess.hunt@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}