Jairus as an environmental microbiologist started where most protistologists do , classical species diversity, specifically among Amoebozoans, those ancient, shape-shifting microorganisms that most people forget exist. But Jairus did not stay classical for long. He has since leveled up into the cutting-edge world of environmental DNA and Nanopore Sequencing, pulling water samples from across the globe and using long-read sequencing technology to uncover the hidden systematics, composition, and distribution of protists that science has barely named — let alone understood. His work is essentially rewriting the catalogue of microbial life, one water sample at a time. From microscopes to minIONs, Jairus is the kind of researcher who chases the unknown — and right now, the unknown lives in every body of water on Earth.