Josh Bostic
PhD Student
ProjectDFG-DI 2136: "Disentangling de-novo synthesis, recycling and transformation of n-alkyl lipids in soils by combining position-specific 13C labeling with fragment-specific 13C analysis."
My research focuses on lipids in soils, and how they are transformed and recycled by microbial communities. By tracking the overall incorporation and spatial orientation of carbon atoms from position-specifically labeled metabolites (glucose and palmitate) into microbial lipid fractions using novel isotope ratio mass spectrometric techniques, we will qualitatively determine the extent of lipid transformation, degradation, and recycling in microbial metabolism. This knowledge will advance our understanding of how lipids contribute to the global carbon cycle and improve the interpretation of lipid biomarkers for plant and microbial diversity.
CV
2013-2015: Research Technician, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawaii at Manoa
2012-2015: M.S. in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise, Virginia Tech
2009-2012: B.S. in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise, Virginia Tech
Publications
J.N. Bostic, S.J. Palafox, M.E. Rottmueller and A.H. Jahren. 2015. Effect of baking and fermentation on the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of grain-based food. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 29(10): 937-947.
V.E. Hedrick, J.M. Zoeller, A.H. Jahren, J.N. Bostic and B.M. Davy. 2015. A dual-carbon-and-nitrogen stable isotope ratio model is not superior to a single-carbon stable isotope ratio model for predicting added sugar intake in Southwest Virginian adults. The Journal of Nutrition, 145(6): 1362-1369.
A.H. Jahren, J.N. Bostic and B.A. Davy. 2014 (Invited Review). The potential for a carbon stable isotope biomarker of dietary sugar intake. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 29(5): 795-816.