Jillian Banfield

Early life and education

Banfield was educated at the Australian National University where she completed her bachelor's and master's degrees (1978–1985) both examining granite weathering. She attributes her initial interest in geomicrobiology to Dr Tony Eggleton who drew her attention to processes at the earth's surface, mineral weathering and the regolith.

Banfield graduated with a PhD in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Johns Hopkins University for high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) studies of metamorphic reactions supervised by David R. Veblen.

Career and research Banfield is an earth scientist who studies the structure, functioning and diversity of microbial communities in natural environments and the human microbiome. and a Mac Arthur Fellow in 1999. She has been a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1990 to 2001 and the University of Tokyo (1996–1998). where she heads the geomicrobiology program and works as a researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Her research as of 2021 spans field sites in Northern California to Australia and covers subjects at the intersection of microbiology and geosciences, including genome-resolved metagenomics, genome editing tool development, astrobiology and microbial carbon capture.

In 2006, Banfield encouraged Jennifer Doudna to study CRISPR after finding the sequences pervasive and rapidly evolving across bacterial genomes. (Doudna went on to receive a Nobel Prize for her resulting groundbreaking CRISPR gene engineering technology).

In 2023, Banfield became the first woman to win the Leeuwenhoek Medal from the Royal Dutch Society for Microbiology, an award that has been given roughly every 10 years since 1875 to honor scientists who have made outstanding contributions to science, society and outreach in the field of microbiology.

Work

Genome-Resolved Metagenomics Banfield pioneered the development and application of genome-resolved metagenomics, a technique that allows for the reconstruction of individual genomes from complex microbial communities without the need for cultivation. This approach significantly expanded our understanding of microbial diversity and evolution.

Tree of Life Expansion Through her work in genomics, Banfield's research group has provided insights into previously unknown bacterial and archaeal lineages. This has led to a substantial revision and expansion of the Tree of Life, adding entire new branches known as Candidate Phyla Radiation, reshaping our understanding of microbial evolution:

Microorganism-Mineral Interactions Banfield has made significant contributions to understanding how microorganisms interact with minerals. This includes studies on how these interactions can lead to the production of nanomaterials and influence geochemical cycles.

Microbiome Community Editing Banfield's research has expanded to include innovative approaches for editing microbial communities, with applications in human health and climate change mitigation. In collaboration with Jennifer Doudna, Banfield has developed groundbreaking techniques for precision microbiome editing. Their work combines genome-resolved metagenomics with CRISPR genome editing to enable targeted modifications of specific genes in complex microbial communities. In 2023 they launched a $70 million initiative to apply microbiome editing to address global challenges in human and planetary health. For human health applications, the research focuses on editing the microbiome to prevent childhood asthma and other inflammatory diseases. In climate change mitigation efforts, the team is targeting methane-producing microbes in livestock to reduce agricultural methane emissions.

Honours and awards 2023 Leeuwenhoek Medal 2017 V.M. Goldschmidt Award, Geochemical Society 2015 Elected to the Australian Academy of Science (International Member) 2015 Honor doctorate, Ben Gurion University, Israel 2013 Award of Dr. sch. h.c. ETH Zurich, Switzerland 2011 L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science: North American Laureate 2011 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth and Environmental Science of the Franklin Institute 2010 Dana Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America 2007 Elected Fellow, The Geochemical Society 2007 ASM Division Q Lecturer (Environmental and General Applied Microbiology) 2006 Elected Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology 2006 Elected to the National Academy of Sciences 2005 Pioneer Lecturer, Clay Minerals Society, June 2005 2005 Rosenqvist Lecturer, Norway, May 2005 2000 Inaugural NSF Earth Science Week Lecturer 2000 Gast Lecturer, Geochemical Society 2000 John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship 2000 Marion L. and Christie M. Jackson Award of the Clay Minerals Society 1999 Fellow through 2004 MacArthur Foundation 1999 Faculty Achievement Award, UW-Madison 1999 D.A. Brown Medal, Australian National University 1998 H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowship UW Madison 1997 Mineralogical Society of America Award 1988 Fulbright Scholar in Medicine at Johns Hopkins University