Education and Professional Experience

EDUCATION

• • Ph.D. in Biology, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), 2012

  • B.S. in Biology/Spanish, Georgetown University, 2006

  • 2012, Strategies and Techniques for Analyzing Microbial Population Structure (STAMPS), The Marine Biological Laboratory

  • 2008, C-MORE Microbial Oceanography Course, University of Hawaii

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

• • 2012 - present, Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Hawaii

    • NSF-funded project: The development of microbial associations in the major reef-building corals of the Pacific Ocean

    • ABYSSLINE: Evaluation of abyssal microbial ecosystem baseline conditions within the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

  • 2006 – 2012, Graduate Student Researcher, UCSD, dissertation research "Genetic and functional diversity of microbial secondary lipid biosynthetic pathways"

  • 2004 - 2006, Undergraduate Researcher, Georgetown University, thesis research "The diversity of KIR2DL4 in bone marrow donors and recipients"

  • Summers 2004 & 2005, Scientific Intern, Applied Biosystems, validated the use of TaqMan Gene Expression Assays to measure gene knockdown in RNA interference experiments

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

• • 2013 - 2014, Instructor. OCN 499 Undergraduate Thesis. University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI.

  • 2011, Summer Graduate Teaching Fellow. BILD1: The Cell. UCSD, La Jolla, CA

  • 2010 (Summer), Academic Connections Instructor. Marine Microbiology. UCSD, La Jolla, CA

  • 2009 - 2010, NSF GK-12 Fellow. Biology. UCSD, La Jolla, CA

  • 2009 (Spring), Teaching Assistant. Bacteriology. UCSD, La Jolla, CA

  • 2007 (Fall), Teaching Assistant. Recombinant DNA Techniques. UCSD, La Jolla, CA

ADVISING EXPERIENCE

• • 2013 - 2014, Lisa Hall (McNair Scholar, C-MORE Scholar, UH-Manoa)

  • 2013 - 2014, Gavin Mura (C-MORE Scholar, UH-Manoa)

  • 2013 - 2014, Brianne Maillot (undergrad, Hawaii Pacific University)

  • 2012 - 2014, Eric Brucks (M.S., UH-Manoa)

  • 2012, Chelsea Behymer (undergrad, Hawaii Pacific University)

AT-SEA EXPERIENCE

• • R/V Point Sur. Oct 8 - 11, 2014. (California Coast)

  • R/V Kilo Moana. Jan 26 - 29, 2014. (Hawaiian Islands)

  • R/V Melville. Oct 3 - 27, 2013. (Clarion-Clipperton Zone)

  • R/V Atlantic Explorer. 2008. (Bermuda to Puerto Rico)

  • R/V Kilo Moana. June 15 - 23, 2008. (Station ALOHA)

  • R/V Pez Mar. 2008. (Puerto Rico Trench)

As an NSF GK-12 Fellow at Castle Park High School in Chula Vista, CA.

Processing mud samples aboard the R/V Melville (Photo credit: Helena Winklund).

Successful Van Veen Double Grab aboard the R/V Point Sur.