Jennifer Pett-Ridge
American biologist
Jennifer Pett-Ridge
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
Yale University
Yale School of the Environment
Scientific career
InstitutionsLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
University of California, Merced
ThesisRapidly fluctuating redox regimes frame the ecology of microbial communities and their biogeochemical function in a humid tropical soil (2005)

Jennifer Pett-Ridge is an American biologist who is a senior staff scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of California, Merced and at an investigator at the Innovative Genomics Institute[1]. Her research makes use of systems biology and biogeochemistry to uncover function in microbial communities. She was awarded a 2021 United States Department of Energy Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award.

Early life and education

Pett-Ridge studied biology and studies in the environment at Yale University.[2] She moved to the Yale School of the Environment for graduate studies, and specialized in forest science. She worked as a US Forest Service technician at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest.[2] After earning her master's degree, Pett-Ridge joined the University of California, Berkeley for her doctoral research. Her research considered how fluctuating redox regimes impact nitrogen cycling and the ecology of microbial communities.[3] She was appointed a postdoctoral fellow at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and vice chair of soil ecology at the Ecological Society of America.[4]

Research and career

Pett-Ridge serves as lead scientist for the Microbes Persis soil microbiome Science Focus Area (SFA) and Terraforming Soil Energy Earthshot Research Center, supported by the Department of Energy Biological and Environmental Research (DOE BER).[4] In 2023, Pett-Ridge was appointed lead of the LLNL Carbon Initiative.[5][6] Pett-Ridge has worked in microbial ecology in an effort to understand and predict future climates.[7] She developed isotopic tools (typically C and N isotope composition) and imaging tools (NanoSIMS) to quantify how climate influences the ecology of soil, microorganisms, and plants.[8] She was supported by a United States Department of Energy Early Career award to investigate how soil microbial communities responded to changing soil oxygen conditions. In particular, she developed nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry.[9] In 2023, she led the Roads to Removal report, an economy-wide, county-level evaluation of how atmospheric carbon removal can get the USA to 'net-zero.'[10][11]

Pett-Ridge has investigated whether it is possible to sequester carbon dioxide using plants like switchgrass.[7] The roots of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) can extend 50 feet down, which can contribute to carbon sequestration by locking carbon deep into ground.[12]

In 2020, Pett-Ridge was appointed as an investigator in the Sustainability Theme of in the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI).[2]

Awards and honors

Select publications

  • Marco Keiluweit; Jeremy J. Bougoure; Peter S. Nico; Jennifer Pett-Ridge; Peter K. Weber; Markus Kleber (30 March 2015). "Mineral protection of soil carbon counteracted by root exudates". Nature Climate Change. 5 (6): 588–595. doi:10.1038/NCLIMATE2580. ISSN 1758-678X. Wikidata Q110944846.
  • Noah S Sokol, Eric Slessarev, Gianna Marschmann, Alexa A Nicolas, Steven Blazewicz, Eoin Brodie, Mary K Firestone, Megan Foley, Rachel Hestrin, Bruce Hungate, Benjamin Koch, Bram Stone, Matthew Sullivan, Olivier Zablocki, LLNL Soil Microbiome Consortium, Jennifer Pett-Ridge (28 February 2022). “Life and death in the soil microbiome: how ecological processes influence biogeochemistry“. Nature Reviews Microbiology 20( 7): 415-430. doi.org/10.1038/s41579-022-00695-z.
  • Erin E Nuccio; Angela Hodge; Jennifer Pett-Ridge; Donald J Herman; Peter K Weber; Mary K Firestone (30 January 2013). "An arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus significantly modifies the soil bacterial community and nitrogen cycling during litter decomposition". Environmental Microbiology. 15 (6): 1870–1881. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.12081. ISSN 1462-2912. PMID 23360621. Wikidata Q34566994.

References

  1. ^ "Members". Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI). Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  2. ^ a b c "CABBI Welcomes Sustainability Theme PI Jennifer Pett-Ridge | Center for Advanced Bioenergy & Bioproducts Innovation". 9 December 2020. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  3. ^ Pett-Ridge, Jennifer (2005). Rapidly fluctuating redox regimes frame the ecology of microbial communities and their biogeochemical function in a humid tropical soil. OCLC 945871157.
  4. ^ a b "pettridge2". people.llnl.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  5. ^ Celebrating Women in Climate Action with LLNL Director Kim Budil, 30 March 2021, retrieved 2022-06-22
  6. ^ "Jennifer Pett-Ridge Biography". carbon-economy.llnl.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  7. ^ a b "Bacteria wars are raging in soil, and it's keeping ecosystems healthy". Popular Science. 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  8. ^ "Go with your gut—the hidden secrets and powers of microbiomes". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  9. ^ "Digging into the Soil Microbiome | Science & Technology Review". str.llnl.gov. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  10. ^ "Roads to Removal – Options for carbon dioxide removal in the US". roads2removal.org. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  11. ^ Pett-Ridge, Jennifer; Kuebbing, Sara; Mayer, Allegra; Hovorka, Susan; Pilorgé, Hélène; Baker, Sarah; Pang, Simon; Scown, Corinne; Mayfield, Kimberly (2023-12-01). Roads to Removal: Options for Carbon Dioxide Removal in the United States (Report). doi:10.2172/2301853.
  12. ^ Ashley, Dan; Didion, Tim (2021-07-26). "Here's how Bay Area researchers are using plants to fight climate change". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  13. ^ "Endowed Biogeochemistry Lecture | Geochemical Society". www.geochemsoc.org. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  14. ^ "Energy Secretary Granholm Announces 2021 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award Winners". Energy.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  15. ^ "Two LLNL scientists earn E.O. Lawrence Award". www.llnl.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  16. ^ "Ecological Society of America announces 2024 Fellows". Ecological Society of America. 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  17. ^ Murdock, Andy (2025-03-27). "Jennifer Pett-Ridge Elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science". Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI). Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  18. ^ "Jennifer Pett-Ridge - 2025 Women's Hall Of Fame - Alameda County". www.acgov.org. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
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