During my PhD, I am interested to investigate how macrofaunal bioturbation and bio-irrigation affect the composition and activities of microbial organisms in marine sediments. I use a combination of field studies, experimental approaches and molecular techniques to bridge the gap which exists increasing the mechanistic understanding of the benthic processes, by linking the experimental approaches (macrofauna-functioning) with molecular work on microbial organisms (bacteria, Archaea) involved in the nitrogen cycle of coastal sediments. This work required a number of microbial techniques to be newly set up and optimized in our lab in a joint research of the Microbiology and Marine Biology groups.