Rachel Foster | Microbial Oceanography | Best Researcher Award Published on 23/09/202523/09/2025 by Cell Biologist Prof. Rachel Foster | Microbial Oceanography | Best Researcher Award Stockholm University | Sweden Rachel A. Foster is a leading researcher in microbial oceanography, with significant contributions to the study of planktonic symbioses, particularly those involving nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria and diatoms. Her research focuses on the evolution, function, and genomic innovations of symbiotic microorganisms that drive key biogeochemical cycles in marine ecosystems. Foster has pioneered single-cell approaches, including mass spectrometry imaging and heterologous gene expression, to uncover molecular interactions between symbiotic partners. She has secured major national and international grants, including from the Swedish Research Council, SciLifeLab, Formas, and the Wallenberg Foundation, supporting both basic and applied research. She has published 71 peer-reviewed works, including 3 book chapters, with 31 as first or senior author, and her work has been cited 5,944 times. Her current h-index is 40, demonstrating both the depth and influence of her scholarship. Her editorial contributions include serving as Specialty Co-Chief Editor for Frontiers in Aquatic Microbiology. Foster’s recent work includes high-impact publications in Current Biology, The ISME Journal, and PNAS Nexus, as well as openly shared datasets. Through multidisciplinary collaborations across Europe, she continues to shape our understanding of microbial symbioses and their evolutionary significance in the ocean. Profiles: Scopus | Orcid Featured Publications: Grujcic, V., Mehrshad, M., Vigil-Stenman, T., Lundin, D., & Foster, R. A. (2025). Stepwise genome evolution from a facultative symbiont to an endosymbiont in the N2-fixing diatom-Richelia symbioses. Current Biology. Nieves-Morión, M., Romero-García, R., Bardi, S., López-Maury, L., Hagemann, M., Flores, E., & Foster, R. A. (2025). Retention of a SulP-family bicarbonate transporter in a periplasmic N2-fixing cyanobacterial endosymbiont of an open ocean diatom. The ISME Journal. Foster, R. A. (2025, April 27). Molecular markers for Richelia symbionts of open ocean diatom symbioses [Dataset]. figshare. Grujcic, V., Mehrshad, M., Vigil-Stenman, C. T., Lundin, D., & Foster, R. A. (2025, March 25). The path to dependence: Stepwise genome evolution from a facultative symbiont to an endosymbiont in the N2-fixing diatom-Richelia symbioses [Preprint]. bioRxiv. Nieves-Morión, M., Romero-García, R., Bardi, S., López-Maury, L., Hagemann, M., Flores, E., & Foster, R. A. (2024, January 10). Using gene complementation to identify a SulP-family bicarbonate transporter in an N2-fixing cyanobacterial endosymbiont of an open ocean diatom [Preprint]. bioRxiv. Nieves-Morión, M., Camargo, S., Bardi, S., Ruiz, M. T., Flores, E., Foster, R. A., & Bayer, E. (2023). Heterologous expression of genes from a cyanobacterial endosymbiont highlights substrate exchanges with its diatom host. PNAS Nexus.
Rachel A. Foster is a leading researcher in microbial oceanography, with significant contributions to the study of planktonic symbioses, particularly those involving nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria and diatoms. Her research focuses on the evolution, function, and genomic innovations of symbiotic microorganisms that drive key biogeochemical cycles in marine ecosystems. Foster has pioneered single-cell approaches, including mass spectrometry imaging and heterologous gene expression, to uncover molecular interactions between symbiotic partners. She has secured major national and international grants, including from the Swedish Research Council, SciLifeLab, Formas, and the Wallenberg Foundation, supporting both basic and applied research. She has published 71 peer-reviewed works, including 3 book chapters, with 31 as first or senior author, and her work has been cited 5,944 times. Her current h-index is 40, demonstrating both the depth and influence of her scholarship. Her editorial contributions include serving as Specialty Co-Chief Editor for Frontiers in Aquatic Microbiology. Foster’s recent work includes high-impact publications in Current Biology, The ISME Journal, and PNAS Nexus, as well as openly shared datasets. Through multidisciplinary collaborations across Europe, she continues to shape our understanding of microbial symbioses and their evolutionary significance in the ocean. Profiles: Scopus | Orcid Featured Publications: Grujcic, V., Mehrshad, M., Vigil-Stenman, T., Lundin, D., & Foster, R. A. (2025). Stepwise genome evolution from a facultative symbiont to an endosymbiont in the N2-fixing diatom-Richelia symbioses. Current Biology. Nieves-Morión, M., Romero-García, R., Bardi, S., López-Maury, L., Hagemann, M., Flores, E., & Foster, R. A. (2025). Retention of a SulP-family bicarbonate transporter in a periplasmic N2-fixing cyanobacterial endosymbiont of an open ocean diatom. The ISME Journal. Foster, R. A. (2025, April 27). Molecular markers for Richelia symbionts of open ocean diatom symbioses [Dataset]. figshare. Grujcic, V., Mehrshad, M., Vigil-Stenman, C. T., Lundin, D., & Foster, R. A. (2025, March 25). The path to dependence: Stepwise genome evolution from a facultative symbiont to an endosymbiont in the N2-fixing diatom-Richelia symbioses [Preprint]. bioRxiv. Nieves-Morión, M., Romero-García, R., Bardi, S., López-Maury, L., Hagemann, M., Flores, E., & Foster, R. A. (2024, January 10). Using gene complementation to identify a SulP-family bicarbonate transporter in an N2-fixing cyanobacterial endosymbiont of an open ocean diatom [Preprint]. bioRxiv. Nieves-Morión, M., Camargo, S., Bardi, S., Ruiz, M. T., Flores, E., Foster, R. A., & Bayer, E. (2023). Heterologous expression of genes from a cyanobacterial endosymbiont highlights substrate exchanges with its diatom host. PNAS Nexus.