Dr. Yujia Luo

Yujia Luo joined TER in 2024 as a postdoctoral researcher, after completing her PhD at Wageningen University and her first postdoctoral fellowship at Wetsus (the Netherlands). Her earlier research explored how organic amendments shape soil microbiomes and influence key soil functions, such as aggregation and crop productivity. Over time, her focus has evolved from applied sustainable agricultural practices toward a more fundamental understanding of microbial growth. At TER, her postdoctoral project (WP7.1) within the Cluster of Excellence: Microbiomes Drive Planetary Health investigates microbial growth, biomass, and carbon use efficiency.

1. Unify existing growth theories by developing a conceptual framework that bridges scales, from pure cultures to natural ecosystems, through a broader definition of growth.

2. Benchmark growth measurements to enable robust and comparable assessments across diverse systems.

3. Identify cross-system controls of mass-specific microbial growth.