Ocean Systems Ecology Lab

Gregory L. Britten (Assistant Scientist I, WHOI)

Greg leads the Ocean Systems Ecology Lab as an oceanographer and systems ecologist developing models of marine populations and ecosystems. Greg received his PhD in earth system science from the University of California, Irvine, an M.Sc. in biology from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, a B.Sc. in statistics & biology from Dalhousie, and was a postdoctoral researcher in earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Google Scholar Github CV

Sarah Zedler (Research Associate III, WHOI)

Sarah is a physical oceanographer pursuing questions related to planktonic biophysics. Sarah received her PhD from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, an M.A. in the department of geography of UC Santa Barbara, and a B.S. in physics from UC Davis. Sarah has postdoc experience from Texas A&M, UT Austin, KAUST, U Hawaii, and worked as a research scientist at the National Oceanography Centre, UK.

ResearchGate

Jillian Xiong (Postdoctoral Investigator, WHOI, co-supervised with Ke Chen and Gordon Zhang)

Jillian is a biophysical oceanographer working to develop numerical physical and biogeochemical ecosystem models of the Northwest Atlantic with a focus on the large-scale carbon cycle. Jillian received her PhD from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William & Mary and previously obtained M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees from Nanjing University in China.

Website Good Scholar

Julia Huggins (Postdoctoral Investigator, WHOI, co-supervised with Maria Pachiadacki)

Julia is a biogeochemist working on questions related to how microorganisms regulate their metabolisms in low-oxygen environments. She received her PhD from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, and her bachelor's degree from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR. She has studied microbial communities and metabolisms in low-oxygen marine environments in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and is currently a postdoc at WHOI. In addition to her scientific research, Julia also works as a science educator on National Geographic ships in Alaska, Antarctica, and the Arctic, and she promotes science public outreach through the Nerdy About Nature podcast and social media platforms.

Google Scholar

Danling Ma (PhD Student, MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Biological Oceanography)

Danling is pursuing her PhD in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program where she is studying marine biogeochemistry and plankton ecology. Danling obtained her M.Sc. in environmental sciences from ETH Zurich and her B.Sc. in natural resources and environmental science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Website Google Scholar ResearchGate

Pippa Edwards (PhD Student, University of Southampton & National Oceanography Centre, UK - co-supervised with BB Cael, Stephanie Henson, Mark Moore, Lauren Biermann)

Pippa is PhD student in the INSPIRE DTP program at the University of Southampton and National Oceanography Centre (UK) focused on modeling variability in the biological carbon pump. She studied at the University of Plymouth for her B.Sc in Marine Biology and Oceanography and took part in research at Plymouth Marine Laboratory and Cefas during her degree.

Alex Hochroth (PhD Student, MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Biological Oceanography, co-supervised with Maria Pachiadacki)

Alex is pursuing his PhD in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program where he is studying microbial biogeochemistry. Alex obtained his B.A. in biological sciences at the University of Chicago, and worked as a technician at the Ragon Institute of the Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, and Harvard.

Google Scholar

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The group is excited to work with interested students and researchers, including undergraduates, graduates, postdocs, and research scientists. Graduate students are admitted through the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Biological Oceanography. Please reach out to discuss opportunities, including fellowship and graduate applications, or other activities of interest within the lab.

Former Group Members

Matthew Woodstock (Postdoctoral Scholar, WHOI), Individual-based models of fish bioenergetics and population dynamics, 2022-2024
Lael Wakamatsu (PhD, University of Tasmania), Modeling biotic and abiotic drivers of harmful algal blooms, 2020-2024 (co-supervised with Andy Fischer and Chris Bolch)

While at MIT:

Christine Padalino (MSc, MIT), Mesoscale eddies and the air-sea flux of CO2, 2022-2023 (co-supervised with Mick Follows and Lexi Jones)
Simona Meiler (MSc, ETH Zurich), Evaluating marine diazotroph biomass distributions using nifH gene abundance observations, 2019-2020 (co-supervised with Mick Follows)
Christine Padalino (BEng, MIT), Covariation of mixed layer depth and phytoplankton concentrations in the North Pacific, 2020-2022
Michelle Yin (BSc, MIT), Machine learning models of chlorophyll variability in the North Pacific, 2020
Morgan Mayborne (BSc, MIT), Stephanie Howe (BSc, MIT), Omozusi Guobadia (BSc, MIT), Edward Guthru (BSc, MIT), Stochastic models of COVID-19, 2020
Kathryn Tso (BSc, MIT), An updated decomposition analysis of the ocean’s biological pumps, 2020

While at UCI:

Syed Faizanul Haque (BSc, UCI), Stochastic models of marine microbial populations, 2017-2018
Henry Sue (BSc, UCI), Empirical models of the ocean’s vertical organic matter flux profile, 2017–2018
Megha Rudresh (BSc, UCI), Models of plankton competition in a mixing environment, 2017
Lael Wakamatsu (BSc, UCI), Testing the temperature-ballast hypothesis in the Southern Ocean, 2016