Research Interests

Currently, I am researching the how diatoms in the family Rhopalodiaceae have evolved with their N-fixing cyanobacterial endosymbionts and to what extent the two are integrated. More broadly, I am interested in “evolutionary grey areas”. In particular, I love thinking about long-term, mutualistic co-evolution and tight-knit endosymbiotic relationships, and how two organisms become highly integrated at the genetic, metabolic, and cellular levels. I am also interested in diatom evolution and microbial ecology.