Dr. Pia Moisander

Professor of Biology

Affiliate appointment at the Department of Estuarine and Ocean Sciences, School of Marine Science and Technology

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

pmoisander at umassd dot edu

Lab location: Violette Research Addition 209B

Stephanie Richard

MS student in Marine Biology

Thesis topic: Impact of climate change on copepod microbiome

In my Master’s thesis research, I am studying the microbiome of the marine copepod Acartia tonsa. I am investigating how climate change conditions impact the diversity and composition of the copepod microbiome and the overall sources and stability of the microbiome. Besides amplicon sequencing and sequence analysis, I am conducting culturing and Scanning Electron Microscopy. 

Abhishek Naik (Abhi)

PhD student in Marine Science

Thesis topic: Stability of marine biofilms in response to antifouling

I am interested in how bacteria and eukaryotes respond to disturbance when they are a part of complex microbial communities. My research considers such communities within marine biofilms, and asks how disturbances can alter biofilm development. We grow coastal biofilms in-situ, and disturb them using novel, sustainable antifouling techniques. I use bulk biomass, amplicon sequencing and metagenomics approaches to identify patterns of community resistance and recovery in these biofilms

Lucy Manlick

MS student in Marine Biology

Thesis topic: Bacterial metabolisms in marine microplastics

Flow cytometry, metagenomics

Isabell Hunter

Lab management

Katyanne Shoemaker

PhD in Marine Science

Dissertation topic: Copepod microbiome in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre

Sarah Holmes

MS in Marine Biology

Thesis topic: Competition of toxic and non-toxic Microcystis aeruginosa