Johanna L’Heureux is a PhD Candidate in the Bowen Lab. She is interested in host-microbe interactions and how they respond to and shape their environment. Before starting at Northeastern, L’Heurexu received her bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst in Biochemistry where she studied the intricate symbiosis between legumes and nitrogen fixing soil bacteria.
Other past research experiences have involved formulating probiotics to increase viability throughout storage as well as characterizing the effects of mixtures of plant growth-promoting bacteria on seedling germination when subjected to heat stress. While in the Bowen Lab, L’Heureux hopes to conduct research related to plant-microbial associations in salt marsh ecosystems and the role they play in the cycling of carbon and nitrogen. Additionally, she aims to better communicate scientific topics so that science can have the greatest impact in helping solve the global challenges we are currently facing.