Professor Jeff Powell obtained his PhD from the University of Guelph, Canada in 2008, where he studied the biological impacts of genetically-modified crops on soils, including mycorrhizas, rhizobia, and soil fauna.

His postdoctoral research at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, examined the role of fungal traits in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and factors controlling the predictability of microbial community assembly, both of which have relevance for the management of microbial communities and their ecosystem services.

He joined the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment in 2011.

Professor Powell is interested in the processes underlying the assembly of microbial communities and how these processes can be manipulated to achieve beneficial outcomes. A goal of his research is to understand the contributions of microbial biodiversity to the productivity of managed and natural systems and to how these systems respond to environmental change.

Outcomes of this work will be a greater understanding of i) how mycorrhizal fungi, rhizobia, and other microbial associates of plants control aspects of carbon and nutrient cycling and ii) how these can be managed to confer greater benefits to plants (linked to enhanced nutrient uptake and reduced impacts of pathogens).