Mustafa Saifuddin is a Visiting Assistant Professor at XE. Mustafa is an ecologist with a particular interest in microbial ecology, mycorrhizal fungi, soil biogeochemistry, and environmental and climate justice. Mustafa is a Staff Scientist with the Sustainable Food and Farming Program at Earthjustice, where they collaborate with lawyers, policy experts and community organizations toward reducing air, water and climate pollution from agriculture.

Mustafa graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in biology and interdisciplinary humanities in 2013 and completed a PhD in Biology with a certificate in biogeosciences from Boston University in 2018. Mustafa’s dissertation research integrated molecular approaches, stable isotopes and modeling to characterize how the metabolism and community structure of bacteria and fungi in forest soils impact carbon and nitrogen cycling. Mustafa is the author of research on soil microbial ecology, food systems and climate change among other topics. Mustafa has been the recipient of awards from the National Science Foundation and was formerly an archival fellow with the South Asian American Digital Archive.