Aaron Leininger

Aaron Leininger is an assistant professor studying microbial communities and their interactions within engineered water systems. He earned his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Princeton and previously conducted research at EPFL, Eawag, and DC Water. His research combines microbial physiology, ecology, and electrochemistry to understand and control microbial behavior in water treatment processes, biorefineries, and, most recently, the Mississippi River Delta.

Selected Publications

Leininger, A., Mayo, E., Yan, Y., Gu, W., May, H.D. and Ren, Z.J., 2026. Prophage induction and acetate availability are associated with distinct Lactiplantibacillus plantarum electrode responses. Msystems, 11(5), pp.e00183-26.

Jourdain, L., Leininger, A., Pacheco, A.R. and Gu, W., 2026. Environmental selection constrains metabolic network architecture despite taxonomic turnover in anaerobic digestion communities. The ISME Journal, 20(1), p.wrag145.

Leininger, A., Chen, J., Ramaswami, A. and Ren, Z.J., 2023. Urban circular carbon economy through electrochemically influenced microbiomes. One Earth, 6(3), pp.278-289.