My main research line attempts to understand the mechanisms underlying the structure of marine microbial communities and their impact on global biogeochemical cycles, using a combination of oceanographic, biochemical, molecular, physiological and ‘omics’ approaches. I am particularly interested on assessing the physiological status of microbial cells in the environment, as well as exploring the heterogeneity in their levels of activity. For this reason I am investing a considerable effort towards improving methodologies to link identity and function within microbial assemblages, with a particular focus on techniques that allow the visualization of cells and other microbial processes. I am also fascinated by the ecology of deep ocean communities, and intrigued by how prokaryotes live and survive in this ecosystem completely isolated from sunlight, the primary source of energy on our planet.