My research focuses on concepts and processes related to population and ecosystem dynamics, food web and habitat interactions, and fisheries management.  These concepts are applied to understand how fisheries resources and marine ecosystems respond to fishing and environmental change.  To that end, I develop mechanistic and empirical models that account for environmental drivers, trophic dynamics, habitat interactions, and policy.  An important contribution of my work is the development of trophic-dynamic models and spatially explicit analyses to inform fisheries assessment and management in the Gulf of Mexico and mid-Atlantic regions.  This highlights the need to develop ecosystem-based approaches that complement the existing single-species assessment and management framework, thereby building upon the strengths of both approaches.  The overall goal of my research is to develop a better understanding of fisheries ecosystems and provide tools (i.e. models) that enable managers, scientists, and stakeholders to become better stewards of our shared natural resources.  The models I develop are used to improve population assessments, screen policy options for unintended consequences, prioritize research, and calculate new management reference points that account for ecosystem interactions and the uncertainty therein.  This work aims to bridge the gap between ecosystem science, stock assessment, and management, while also advancing ecological theories and concepts. 

Current CV