Beginning research on cnidarian muscle, gut, and nervous system evolution at the National Institutes of Health - National Human Genome Research Institute

I have begun a new fellowship at the NIH, merging my interests in cnidarian evolution, immunology, and health in Dr. Andy Baxevanis’ lab in the Computational Genomics Unit! I will be working on genome assemblies and single-cell RNAseq projects seeking to understand the evolutionary origins of complex tissues such as muscle, gut, and nervous systems, while exploring their relevance to immune functions in diverse cnidarian species.

 

Pocillopora host-bacteria interactions paper published in Molecular Ecology!

I am thrilled to share that my manuscript titled “Antibiotics reduce Pocillopora coral-associated bacteria diversity, decrease holobiont oxygen consumption, and activate immune gene expression” has been published in Molecular Ecology! This research delves into the intricate relationships within Pocillopora coral holobiont, uncovering significant insights on how antibiotics treatments reduce bacterial diversity and cause immune activation. These findings contribute to our understanding of coral health and pave the way for further exploration in coral-microbe interactions. I invite you to explore the detailed findings in the published manuscript, available now at this link!

 

STRI Rohr Reef Resilience Project 2023 Galápagos Islands Expedition

In March 2023, the Rohr Reef Resilience (RRR) project team at STRI partnered with the S/Y Acadia and researchers at the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) to survey coral reefs and coral ecosystems in the Galápagos Islands. My role on the project was to take photos and collect samples of Pocillopora corals across the the islands of Floreana, Isabela, Wolf, Darwin, Santiago, and Baltra, while the RRR team established monitoring transects, performed fish censuses and obtained water, sediment, and eDNA samples from each site.

Pocillopora colony at Isla Champion in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
Pocillopora colony at Isla Champion in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.

 

Taking photos of a Pocillopora colony at Isla Wolf in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
Taking photos of a Pocillopora colony at Isla Wolf in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.

 

2022 Workshop on Coral Genetics for Conservation and Restoration

In July 2022, I collaborated Raising Coral Costa Rica and the University of Costa Rica Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia (CIMAR) to host the first workshop on Pocillopora coral genetics for conservation and restoration in Costa Rica. During the workshop, DNA extracts from 45 Pocillopora coral colonies were prepared at the CIMAR laboratories using the Qiagen DNeasy PowerSoil Pro kit, and PCR amplicons for mitochondrial barcoding loci were prepared.

For more information, check-out the course website.

Workshop group photo at the CIMAR laboratories.
Workshop group photo at the CIMAR laboratories.

 

3D Photogrammetry

Updates coming soon!