top of page
48050318113_9f13e45b28_o_edited.jpg

Current Lab Members

Dr. Maria Ruggeri

Postdoc
Ruggeri_Maria_headshot.heic

I am a postdoc in the Weis Lab studying the nutritional exchanges between cnidarians and their algal partners. I am especially interested in symbiosis establishment and maintenance during cnidarian development. Aiptasia, a model organism for cnidarian-algae symbiosis, allows us to study how algal symbiont presence or identity affects the growth and development of asexual offspring produced through pedal laceration. I completed my Ph.D. at UC Irvine with Dr. Matthew Bracken where I studied the physiology and ecology of intertidal sea anemones in the genus Anthopleura. I enjoy designing aquariums for research, imaging on microscopes, and working in the field. My research background has been broad and includes ecological surveys, isotopic diet studies, behavioral studies, physiological measures, and cellular biology.

My name is Erick White and I’m a 5th year PhD candidate in the Weis Lab studying the effects of parental provisioning of nutrients in asexual offspring in corals. After receiving my Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and Ancient History from Swarthmore College in 2015, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia where I was research technician working on cryptic genetic variation in C. elegans to study the effects of key genes in development at Georgia Institute of Technology. I then went on to Emory University as a research assistant where I worked on various projects related to SIV/HIV pathogenesis and how CD8 t-cells factor into long-term viral incubation and reactivation. Based on my past experiences, I became interested in how we use model systems to answer cellular and physiological questions. I particularly became interested in understanding the mechanisms of nutrition and metabolism, which I applied to my work here studying the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis of corals. For my projects, I will use the model system Exaiptasia diaphana (Aiptasia) to examine the nutritional underpinnings of symbiosis at different life stages. For one of my projects, I will measure how nutritional provisioning in pedal lacerates is affected by the environmental and feeding conditions undergone by the parents. In another one of my projects, I will look to characterize the metabolome of pedal lacerates and examine which molecules are present and/or essential for development in pedal lacerates.

Erick White

Ph.D Candidate
Screenshot (140).png

Jun Cai

I am a third year PhD student in the Weis Lab and studying thermal stress on cnidarian-algal symbiosis. In 2016, I graduated from Emory University with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a secondary major in History. There I studied the transmission of West Nile virus from Culex mosquitoes in Atlanta, Georgia at Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec's lab. After undergraduate studies, I joined Teach for America and taught high school biology and middle school integrative science for four years in Stockton and Oakland, California. I became interested in cnidarian-algal symbiosis when I worked for a summer at John Pringle's lab in Stanford University. There I worked with Dr. Phillip Cleves on projects related to acclimation of Aiptasia to thermal stress and the genetic response of Aiptasia to light and dark treatments. For my research, I am interested in the effects of thermal stress on the breakdown of cnidarian-algal symbiosis (i.e., cnidarian bleaching) and the molecular and cellular mechanisms essential for heat tolerance and recovery. Two of my current projects look at the growth and development of pedal lacerate under heat stress and wound-healing and regeneration of tissues.

Ph.D Student
jun.jpg

Olivia Burleigh

Ph.D Student
Burleigh_Olivia_crop.jpg

I am a second year PhD student in the Weis Lab and am studying the role of transforming growth  factor-beta in the establishment and breakdown of cnidarian-algal symbiosis. I am also a PRAx interdisciplinary art-science fellow and am building a set of coral reef sculptures that will be on display in June 2024. In 2021, I graduated from Creighton University with a B.S. in Biology and minors in Environmental Sciences and Studio Art. During my undergraduate career and gap year, I studied the role of long non-coding RNAs in regulating inflammatory responses in mice. 

52154438090_1fbd77864b_c.jpg

Former Lab Members

Dr. Val Sawiccy

Ph.D Awarded 2023

val.jpg

Career Faculty Instructor, University of Oregon

Dr. Samuel Bedgood

Postdoc 2022-2023

sam.jpg

Director of Microbiology and Research Development, Bay Shellfish Company, Florida

Keyla Plichon

Visiting graduate student 2022

kp.jpg

Ph.D Student, Université Côte d’Azur

Ph.D Awarded 2022

shumpei.jpg

Postdoc, Carnegie Institution for Science with Phillip Cleves

Dr. Jack Koch

Ph.D Awarded 2021

jack.jpg

Postdoc, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center

Dr. Jason Presnell

Postdoc 2018-2020

jason.jpg

Senior Lab Specialist, University of Utah

Dr. Trevor Tivey

Ph.D Awarded 2019

tt.jpg

Postdoc, Cornell University

​

Dr. Holland Elder

Ph.D Awarded 2020

holland.jpg

Postdoc, USC, California

Postdoc 2016-2018

jp.jpg

Assistant Professor, University of South Florida, Florida

Ph.D Awarded 2016

cc.jpg

Assistant Professor, University of Birmingham at Alabama, Alabama

Dr. Sheila Kitchen

Ph.D Awarded 2016

sk.jpeg

Assistant professor, Texas A&M Galveston

Dr. Angela Poole

Ph.D Awarded 2015

ap.jpg

Assistant Professor, Berry College

Ph.D Awarded 2010

cs.jfif

Associate Professor, Whitney Labs, University of Florida

Dr. Wendy Phillips

Faculty Research Assistant 96-05,

Graduate Student 2009-2012

wp.jpg

Senior Bioinformatician - Diversigen, Inc.

Dr. Jeremie Vidal-Dupiol

Postdoc 2013

jvd.jpg

Research Associate, Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer

Dr. Camille Paxton

Postdoc 2010-2012

c.jpg

 Instructor, A-B Tech Community College, Asheville, NC

Dr. Olivier Detournay

Postdoc 2007-2009

od.jfif

Chief Scientific Officer, Coral Biome, France

Dr. Laura Hauck

Ph.D Awarded 2007

lhauck.jpg

Research Scientist, US Forest Service

Dr. Emilie Neubauer

Visiting graduate student 08-11

en.png

Teacher, Carterton, New Zealand

Dr. Elisha Wood-Charlson

Ph.D awarded 2008

ewc.png

User Engagement Lead at KBase, UC Berkeley, CA

Dr. Melissa deBoer

Ph.D Awarded 2004

melissadeboer.png
Dr. Simon Dunn

Postdoc 2002-2007

sdunn.jpg

Laboratory Manager, Queensland Brain Institute, Australia

Dr. Santiago Perez

Ph.D Awarded 2007

Santi 2007.JPG

Instructor, Portland Community College, OR

Dr. Sophie Richier

Postdoc 2005-2006

sr.jpeg

Department Manager, Centre Etudes et de Valorisation des Algues

Visiting graduate student 01-03

ob.jfif

Marine Biologist Consultant

Postdoc 1999-2002

cm.png

Professor, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, U. of Maryland

Postdoc 2002-2005

mrl.jpg

Associate Professor, Florida International University

Ph.D awarded 2002

js.jpg

Associate Professor, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY

Dr. Alan Verde

Postdoc 1998-2002

Alan 2004.JPG

Professor, Marine Maritime Academy

bottom of page