Stiefel's research interests involve the bioinorganic, coordination and environmental chemistry of transition metal ions. He is interested in the roles played by 'trace' elements such as iron, molybdenum, and tungsten in the biogeochemical cycles of the major elements, such as carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. Particular interests involve nitrogen fixation, the molybdenum cofactor, and the role of metalloenzymes and catalysts in the origins and evolution of life. Stiefel is also involved in the bioinorganic chemistry of iron, and the role of ferritin and bacterioferritin (which he co-discovered) in the storage, sequestration, and delivery of iron for cellular processes. In collaboration with François Morel, marine organisms are studied, where the nature of iron storage is virtually unknown (although iron is a limiting nutrient in certain ocean environments and iron fertilization has been proposed as a possible CO2 mitigation strategy). For bacterioferritins, which contain heme, there is great interest in the (yet unknown) mechanism of internal electron transfer, which may facilitate the uptake and release of iron.

Relevant Recent Papers:

E. I. Stiefel "The Biogeochemistry of Molybdenum and Tungsten" in Molybdenum and Tungsten. Their Roles in Biological Processes, Vol. 39 Metal Ions in Biological Systems, A. Sigel and H. Sigel, eds., Marcel Dekker, New York, 2002, pp. 1-30.

E. I. Stiefel and H. H. Murray "Molybdenum in the Environment" in Heavy Metals in the Environment, edited by B. Sarkar, Marcel Dekker, New York, 2002 pp. 503-529.

K. Wang and E. I. Stiefel "Toward Separation and Purification of Olefins Using Dithiolene Complexes: An Electrochemical Approach" Science, 291, 106-109 (2001).

M. W. W. Adams and E. I. Stiefel "Organometallic Iron - Key to Biological Hydrogen Metabolism" Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, 4, 214-220 (2000).

E. I. Stiefel, " Transition Metal Sulfur Chemistry and Its Relevance to Molybdenum and Tungsten Enzymes" Pure Appl. Chem., 70(4), 889-896 (1998).