Associate Professor Julie Cosmidis awarded European Mineralogical Union Research Excellence Medal
Associate Professor Julie Cosmidis has been awarded the distinguished 2025 European Mineralogical Union Research Excellence Medal in recognition of her outstanding scientific achievements.
The European Mineralogical Union is a prominent scientific organisation whose objective is to further European cooperation in the Mineralogical Sciences (mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry and their applications). The Research Excellence Medal is presented annually to a young mid-career scientist who has made significant contributions to research in mineralogy, and whose professional and societal activities contribute to strengthening scientific links in Europe.
Julie is an Associate Professor of Geobiology in the Oxford Earth Sciences Department and has led pioneering research at the intersection of geomicrobiology, mineralogy and environmental geochemistry. Her work explores microbial biomineralization (the process through which microbes produce minerals) and its implications for biosignature detection and sustainable materials.
She is Principal Investigator on the ERC-funded BIOFACTS project and has secured multiple major grants, including from Innovate UK and BBSRC, to advance engineered biominerals for clean energy and carbon sequestration.
In 2025, Julie was appointed as a Co-investigator on the Oxford EARTH programme - the University of Oxford’s pioneering research programme dedicated to tackling the pressing challenges of sustainable and equitable natural resource management and innovation. Since joining, Julie has connected with researchers across nine departments and two divisions to lead work on biotechnological applications for resource recovery.
Her goal is to develop new microbial strategies for the recovery of metals and other critical resources from environmental and waste streams, and to advance new applications of microbial biomineralization for sustainable material biomanufacturing. To achieve this, her lab works closely with bioengineers at Oxford while drawing on the expertise of the Oxford EARTH community in sustainable resource management.
“Julie’s pioneering research on the use of microbes to selectively harvest critical metals from a variety of media and biomanufacture advanced materials in this way is a significant research theme within Oxford EARTH. We are very much looking forward to exciting new results from her collaboration with Associate Professor Harrison Steel in the Department of Engineering.”
- Professor Jon Blundy, Oxford EARTH Research Director
Alongside her research, Julie contributes actively to college life as a Fellow of Wolfson College and plays a key role in teaching and mentoring within the Department of Earth Sciences as the head of the Oxford Microbe-Mineral Lab. She teaches across the undergraduate course and supervises DPhil students working on topics in geochemistry and geomicrobiology. She also serves as Principal Editor of Geo-Bio Interfaces and sits on the Editorial Board of Geobiology. Committed to public engagement, she has conducted numerous media interviews and contributed to educational books for children.
Oxford EARTH is delighted to congratulate Julie on this well-deserved honour.
