Overview
I provide an integrative approach to marine science, combining multi-omic molecular techniques with biophysical assays and microbial manipulations, as well as spatial modeling and mapping, to provide a novel perspective on ecology and restoration science. My work has largely focused on ways that bacteria and viruses are involved in mediating organismal responses to local and global stressors. At the local scale, I have focused on the role of host-associated microbial communities in mediating ecological interactions between organisms. At a larger scale, I have investigated the effects of global stressors, such as ocean warming, by examining the effects of heat stress on coral, algal, and oyster microbiomes and metabolomes. Recently, I have also developed probiotic and phage therapy treatments to help corals and shellfish tolerate thermal stress. My research aims to combine molecular techniques and experimental microbial manipulations to investigate the role of the different holobiont components in organisms’ responses to stressors at multiple scales, and ultimately use this knowledge to design and test novel tools for ecological restoration.
Before joining Duke, I received my undergraduate degrees from NC State University where I graduated as valedictorian while triple majoring in biology, botany, and chemistry with a minor in genetics on an NCAA Division I wrestling scholarship. For my doctoral research, I was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and Inamori Fellow in Dr. Forest Rohwer’s Microbial Ecology Lab at San Diego State University. My Ph.D. research focused on integrating multi-omics tools such as metagenomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics with thermodynamic assays to investigate how microbes mediate the ecological interactions between corals and algae. After my Ph.D., I joined Dr. Ruth Gates’s lab at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) working at the interface between microbiology, evolutionary biology, and restoration science to investigate the effects of heat stress on the coral holobiont and develop novel intervention techniques for Hawaiian reefs.
Aside from Science I am also a professional surfer, a combat sports coach, and I enjoy gardening, writing poetry, and freestyle rapping.