Associate Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Office: 363 Link Hall
Phone: 315-443-1057
E-mail: costello@syr.edu
Dr. Costello
joined the faculty at
Education
Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 1999
Environmental Engineering Science
M.S., California Institute of Technology,
1995
Environmental Engineering Science
B.S., Georgia Institute of Technology,
1992
Applied Biology
Employment
Service
Member
of the American Geophyisical
Union
Member of the American
Society for Microbiology
Member of the Association of Environmental Engineering and
Science Professors
Dr. Costello teaches courses in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her classes are in the areas of environmental microbiology and biotechnological applications in engineering.
Courses
taught this year:
CIE 472/672, CEN 400/600 Applied Environmental Microbiology
Dr. Costello
conducts multidisciplinary research aimed at elucidating the complex
relationships between microbial diversity and function. Her research is focused
on the development and application of molecular and microbiological tools to
investigate both natural and engineered systems. Dr. Costello's research
interests include issues related to bioremediation, global biogeochemical
cycles, and changes in microbial communities in response to anthropogenic
disturbance.
Currently, Dr. Costello is investigating the diversity of the methane oxidizing
bacteria (methanotrophs) in soils and sediments. Methanotrophs are a group of bacteria that grow on methane
as their sole source of carbon and energy. They can be isolated from a wide
variety of environments and are believed to be ubiquitous in nature. Increased
attention has been focused on the ecological implications of methane oxidation
and the role of methanotrophs in both the global
methane budget and the bioremediation of halogenated solvents. Research in the
Costello lab has led to the development of molecular probes for detecting methanotrophs in both natural and engineered systems. These
probes are designed to assess microbial diversity and function and can also be
used to assess the efficacy of natural attenuation of chlorinated solvents by methanotrophs.
In addition to her work with methanotrophs, Dr.
Costello is also interested in investigations of microbial processes at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF).
Her research at the HBEF addresses the factors controlling microbial diversity
in a northern hardwood forest and the relationships between microbial
diversity, community structure, and microbial function in the ecosystem.
Furthermore, Dr. Costello is also interested in examining the effects of acidic
deposition on the natural microbial communities in the
Selected Publications and Presentations
Costello, A.M. and M.E. Lidstrom. 1999. Molecular characterization of functional
and phylogenetic genes from natural populations of methanotrophs in lake sediments. Accepted
for publication in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Stolyar,
S., A.M. Costello, T.L. Peeples, and M.E. Lidstrom. 1999. Role of multiple gene copies in
particulate methane monooxygenase activity in the
methane-oxidizing bacterium, Methylococcus capsulatus
Hurst, G.B., K. Weaver, M.J. Doktycz,
M.V. Buchanan, A.M. Costello, and M.E. Lidstrom.
1998. MALDI-TOF analysis of polymerase chain reaction products from methanotrophic bacteria. Analytical Chemistry 70(13):2693-2698.
Connell-Hancock, T.L., A.M.
Smith, K.S., A.M. Costello, and M.E. Lidstrom.
1997. Methane and trichloroethylene oxidation by an estuarine methanotroph, Methylobacter sp.
strain BB5-1. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 63:4617-4620.