Marc W. Van Goethem

Postdoctoral Fellows

Post-doctoral fellow in Bioinformatics

Current

Location:

Building 2, Level 3, Sea side, 3216-WS18

Social Profile:

Biography

Marc investigates the microbial world through metagenomic analyses. Through the use of bioinformatic and machine learning he reconstructs metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) to explore the taxonomic and functional attributes of various Saudi Arabian environments. His particular interest is in describing the microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, viruses and fungi) that thrive in the Red Sea and understanding how they survive extreme environmental stresses that define this ecosystem.

Research Interests

Metagenomics, Microbial Ecology

Selected Publications

Novel adaptive immune systems in pristine Antarctic soils

M. W. Van Goethem, O. K. I. Bezuidt, R. Pierneef, S. Vikram, et al.

Scientific Reports, 15:2368 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83942-y

The antibiotic crisis: On the search for novel antibiotics and resistance mechanisms

M. W. Van Goethem, R. Marasco, P. Y. Hong, and D. Daffonchio

Microbial Biotechnology, 17(3), e14430 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.14430

Long-read metagenomics of soil communities reveals phylum-specific secondary metabolite dynamics

M. W. Van Goethem, A. R. Osborn, B. P. Bowen, P. F. Andeer, T. L. Swenson, et al.

Communications Biology 4, 1302 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02809-4

Characteristics of wetting-induced phage blooms in biological soil crust

M. W. Van Goethem, T. L. Swenson, G. Trubl, S. Roux, and T. R. Northen

mBio, 10(6) (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.02287-19

A reservoir of ‘historical’ antibiotic resistance genes in remote pristine Antarctic soils

M. W. Van Goethem, R. Pierneef, O. K. I. Bezuidt, Y. Van De Peer, D. A. Cowan, and T. P. Makhalanyane

Microbiome, 6(1), 40 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-018-0424-5

Education

Ph.D., Biotechnology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, 2017

M.Sc., Genetics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, 2014

B.Sc. (Hons), Genetics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, 2012

B.Sc., Genetics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, 2011

Professional Profile

2021-present: Postdoctoral fellow, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

2018-2020: Postdoctoral researcher, UC Berkeley, CA, United States

Awards

NRF Y1 rated researcher, 2024 (South Africa)

KAUST Affiliations

Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE)

Research Interests Keywords

Metagenomics Microbial ecology