Today, minutes before the stroke of midnight, Kelcie Chiquillo filed her PhD thesis “Understanding the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of tropical seagrasses and the factors driving habitat distribution”. Congratulations Dr. Chiquillo. Kelcie’s next step? An NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship at FIU!
Paul Barber and Peggy Fong named Western Society of Naturalist “Naturalist of the Year”
Paul Barber and Peggy Fong are named Naturalists of the Year for their work on The Diversity Project, advancing diversity in marine science. They delivered a keynote address at the 2021 WSN meeting.
Keira Monuki published undergraduate thesis
Barber Lab undergraduate Keira Monuki published her undergraduate thesis today, entitled “eDNA captures depth partitioning in a kelp forest ecosystem”
Congratulations Keira! Keira is now a PhD student with Eric Sanford at UC Davis.
Welcome John Amiel Flores and Onny Marwayana, our newest PhD students
In Fall 2021, John Amiel Flores (UC Davis) and Onny Marwayana (Indonesian Institute of Sciences) joined the Barber Lab as PhD students. John Amiel previously worked with Rachel Bay at UC Davis. Onny is returning for his second tour of duty, having completed his Masters in 2018. Welcome John Amiel, and welcome back, Onny!
Zack Gold Publishes FishCARD, a California Fish Specific Barcoding Datbase
Barber Lab PhD Student, Zack Gold, published the paper “Improving metabarcoding taxonomic assignment: A case study of fishes in a large marine ecosystem” This paper introduces FishCARD, a metabarcoding reference database specific to fishes in California coastal waters. This is a major advance in support of eDNA research in California.
The Diversity Project is BACK!!!!
After two years hiatus due to a sabbatical and COVID-19, The Diversity Project resumed for summer of 2021, taking a group of amazing students to Moorea, French Polynesia. It’s great to be back! It wasn’t easy getting here by WE. ARE. HERE. Thanks to everyone who made this happen!
Markus Min publishes Undergraduate Thesis
Today, Markus Min published his undergraduate thesis “MiSebastes: An eDNA metabarcoding primer set for rockfishes (genus Sebastes)” in Conservation Genetics Resources. These primers will be an important tool for metabarcoding rockfishes!
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Taylor Ely Publishes her Undergraduate Thesis
Today, Taylor Ely published her undergraduate thesis “Short-lived detection of an introduced vertebrate eDNA signal in a nearshore rocky reef environment” in Plos One. Her work uses a field experiment at Wrigley Marine Lab to show how quickly eDNA signals can disappear in marine environments.
Dita Cahyani files her PhD thesis
Today, Dita Cahyani filed her PhD thesis “Delineating Macro and Micro Marine Biodiversity in the Coral Triangle Using Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures and DNA Metabarcoding“. Congratulations Dr. Cahyani!
UCLA HHMI Health Disparities and the Environment Program Publishes Their Work on Inequities in Remote Learning
Although COVID-19 shut down the UCLA campus, it did not stop the students of the HHMI Health Disparities and the Environment Program. Today, they published their research, “Disparities in Remote Learning Faced by First-Generation and Underrepresented Minority Students During COVID-19: Insights and Opportunities from a Remote Research Experience. in the Journal of Molecular Biology Education. This work highlights the challenges faced by First-Generation and Students of Color in the shift to remote instruction related to COVID-19.