CURRENT LAB MEMBERS
Dr. Blake Ushijima
Principal Investigator
Email: <ushijimab@uncw.edu>
Dr. Ushijima is formerly from Hawaiʻi and received his Ph.D. at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Microbiology working on bacterial pathogens that infect corals. His work focused on novel coral pathogens with an emphasis on the pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus, which infects a variety of corals and marine invertebrates. He continued as a postdoc at Oregon State University working on bacterial oyster pathogens and probiotics. He was then awarded the George Burch Research Fellowship to work at the Smithsonian Marine Station studying stony coral tissue loss disease and was one of the lead investigators for the Coral Health and Marine Probiotics (CHAMP) Lab. During his time at the Smithsonian, he worked on developing probiotics to combat the outbreak of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) spreading throughout the Caribbean. In Fall 2020, he accepted an Assistant Professor position at UNCW.
Courses Taught:
- BIO 330 General Microbiology Lecture (Spring only)
- BIOL 330 General Microbiology Lab (Coordinator Spring & Fall)
- BIO 484/585 Molecular & Microbiology Methods (Fall only)
Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. Lívia Coelho
Started Fall 2023
Dr. Coelho received her Ph.D. at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil in Microbiology working with the diversity of fungi isolated from an Antarctic diseased moss to monitor the progression of the fairy ring disease. She also bio prospected herbicidal and biosurfactant compounds from these fungi to be used in agriculture. Despite being a biologist, she had the opportunity to do part of her undergraduate studies at the University of Portsmouth in England where she studied marine biology. There, she worked with the isolation and identification of psychotropic bacteria from estuarine sponges and had her first contact with some bacteria of the genus Vibrio, which led her to investigate more about this group and ultimately, accept a Postdoc position in the Ushijima Lab in August of 2023.
Research Technicians
Tori Jefferson
Research Specialist
Started Fall 2023
Tori Jefferson accepted a research specialist position at the Ushijima lab in August of 2023. She is analyzing DNA and RNA sequencing samples from Hawaiian corals to investigate changes in microbiome structure. Her undergraduate degrees are in Environmental and Marine Sciences from North Carolina State University. There she worked in Dr. Eric Miller and Dr. Scott Vu’s lab on protein production, translational frame shifting, and phage genomics. After gaining valuable molecular skills, she went to work in Dr. Astrid Schnetzer’s lab researching harmful algal blooms and algal toxins. Tori then moved to Southern California where she worked as wildlife biologist for the forest service researching threatened and endangered species. Tori is finishing her masters at the University of North Carolina Wilmington on freshwater diazotrophs. Her thesis is focused on nitrogen fixation and nutrient limitations.
Graduate Students
Erin Papke
Ph.D. Student
Started Spring 2021
Erin is originally from Pittsburgh, PA, but wanted to pursue marine biology by attending the University of Delaware. During undergrad, she worked in Dr. Mark Warner's lab studying harmful algal blooms and became interested in research and attending graduate school. After her graduation in 2018, Erin participated in a Coral Restoration Internship and an REU at Mote Marine Lab in the Florida Keys. While there, she researched growth impacts on coral and expanded her coral and research experience. After Florida, Erin moved back to Pittsburgh to work in a pulmonology microbial and molecular lab at the University of Pittsburgh. This experience expanded her knowledge of disease mechanisms and encouraged her to combine her passions of disease and coral research together, ultimately leading to the Ushijima lab.
Yesmarie De La Flor
M.Sc. Student
Started Fall 2021
Yesmarie, native to Puerto Rico but raised on the southeast coast of Florida, has long appreciated the importance of marine life and ecosystems. Her first research experience as an undergraduate at Indian River State College was on the Citrus Greening Project with the USDA where she examined the role of immune pathways involved in bacterial-host interactions through genomic annotation of the citrus greening vector Diaphorina citri. After graduating with a bachelor’s in biology, she participated in the Latino Internship to Fellowship Program and was introduced to coral disease research while working at the Smithsonian Marine Station. In the Coral Health and Marine Probiotics Lab at SMS, Yesmarie focused on isolating and developing probiotics to treat corals afflicted by SCTLD. During her time at SMS, she realized her passion for disease pathology and curiosity for microbes and how they impact the ecosystems around us, prompting her to pursue a master’s in biology at UNCW working in the Ushijima Lab. Through her research, Yesmarie hopes to be an ally in reef restoration, to preserve and protect the ocean and its habitats, and be a voice that amplifies diversity and inclusion in STEM.
Sukanya Dayal
M.S. Student
Started Spring 2022
Sukanya became involved with marine conservation research as an undergraduate student at Cornell University. Sukanya worked with Dr. Drew Harvell in the Pacific Northwest to conduct in-situ field surveys to document seagrass wasting disease prevalence and severity over time. Following her graduation, she spent two years as a lab technician working for Dr. Colleen Burge at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore, MD, where she researched the effects of Ostreid Herpesvirus-1 (OsHV-1) microvariants on juvenile Pacific Oysters. Now a M.S. student in the Ushijima Lab, Sukanya is excited to study coral disease and microbiology to explore how human activity impacts ocean health.
Elizabeth (Liz) Weatherup
Ph.D. Student
Started Fall 2023
Liz is originally from rural Georgia but became interested in marine science at a young age through sailing and visiting aquariums. She obtained her B.S. in marine science from Eckerd College in 2019. During that time, she was an intern at Mote Marine Laboratories and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and cultivated an interest in genetics and coral disease. After graduation, she worked at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce, FL developing probiotic treatments for stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) and studied different strains of the coral pathogen, Vibrio coralliilyticus; focusing on how these pathogenic strains were able to co-infect corals already suffering from SCTLD. She then was accepted into the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and William & Mary to pursue her master’s degree. Her thesis was focused on the oyster parasite’s, Perkinsus marinus, population genetic structure on the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico and current parasite intensity levels and mortality levels in the host, Crassostrea virginica, in the York River. She is now a Ph.D. student in the Ushijima Lab studying coral disease, microbiology, and genetics.
Undergraduate Students
FORMER LAB MEMBERS
Graduate Students
Margaret Walter
M.Sc. Student
Graduated Fall 2023
Margaret is a master’s student in the Marine Biology program at UNCW. As an RA in Dr. Ushijima’s lab, she is conducting research on probiotic treatments for corals afflicted by stony coral tissue loss disease. From Vibrio to elephant seals, she is fascinated by everything—big and small—that resides in the ocean. As an undergraduate at Vassar College, she conducted her thesis work on coral genomics in Dr. Jodi Schwarz’s lab. Prior to graduate school she worked in the medical device industry, with a focus on ocular devices, for five years. In pursuing a Marine Biology graduate degree, she hopes to find innovative solutions to support ocean health (and shed all her landlubber ways).
M.Sc. Student
Aly Weber
(co-advised with Dr. Nikki Fogarty -webpage here)
Aly is a master’s student in the Marine Biology program at UNCW. Aly is originally from the landlocked state of Colorado, but she always found herself captivated by the marine environment. She chose to pursue marine biology and received her undergraduate degree from UNCW. After graduating in 2019, Aly worked as an education and coral research intern at the Central Caribbean Marine Institute and the Cape Eleuthera Institute. During this time she worked on coral restoration first hand and realized her true interest was in researching the coral microbiome. As a graduate student, Aly hopes to conduct research that will assist with coral restoration and conservation efforts, and work as a liaison to improve scientific communication within the broader community.
Undergraduate Students
DIS STUDENT
Renii Holmes
(Spring 2023 - Fall 2023)
Renii is a DIS student gaining microbiology lab experience by helping prep for the general microbiology lab course. Previously, she assisted graduate students in the prep for their research, as well as conducted various assignments learning how to utilize laboratory equipment.
Honors Student
Andrew Bahhouth
(Spring 2022 - Spring 2023)
Andrew Bahhouth is studying how the interactions between Vibrio coralliilyticus and Vibrio cholerae vary based on the carbon sources they metabolize.
Honors STudent
Emily T.
(Fall 2022 - Spring 2023)
Emily is currently characterizing new Pacific probiotics that are used to protect corals from the bacterial pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus.
DIS Student
Annabel Burcham
(Fall 2022)
Annabel is a DIS student gaining experience working with a variety of different microbiology lab techniques and helping with the prep for the general microbiology lab course.
Honors Student
Natalie Snyder
(Fall 2021 - Spring 2022)
Undergraduate student Natalie Snyder is observing the effects of bacterial inoculation on Pseudodiploria clivosa larvae to determine if probiotic treatments can increase coral offspring survival rates in their earliest life stages. Co-advised with Dr. Nikki Fogarty.
Honors Student
Ryan Walsh
(Fall 2021 - Spring 2022)
Ryan Walsh is an undergraduate student conducting his honors thesis under the co-mentorship of Dr. Nicole Fogarty. His project aims to identify potentially beneficial bacteria (probiotics) to enhance Pseudodiploria clivosa coral recruit survivorship and growth in captivity during the early stages of development. This is a new, exciting approach for enhancing future captive coral rearing and restoration efforts.
DIS Student
Jennifer Pains
(Fall 2021)
Graduated Fall 2021
DIS Student
Jessica Loi
(Spring 2021 - Fall 2021)
Studying chemotaxis in the invertebrate pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus.
Graduated Fall 2021