Chris Lane (PI)
clane{at}mail.uri.edu, ph. (401) 874-2683, CBLS277
Full CV
Google Scholar profile
My long-term interests relate to the mechanisms behind the process of reduction in both nuclear and organellar genomes. Most recently I have focused on the evolution and spread of eukaryotic photosynthesis, particularly in the cryptophytes and related chromalveolates, but my lab is using both oomycetes and red algal parasites as models to study eukaryotic genome reduction and the genomic causes and consequences of a parasitic life-style.
Click here for details.
Nic Blouin (Post Doc)
ph. (401) 874-9730, CBLS287
Full CV
Broadly my interests relate to the evolution of reproductive strategies and how these adaptations function to provide mechanisms for organisms to persist in the extreme environment of the intertidal zone. I am currently focusing on the red algal parasitic life-style and how reproductive adaptation in closely related species allows for persistence of parasitic associations between closely related taxa.
Eric Salomaki
PhD Student
Email: eric_salomaki{at}my.uri.edu
Eric is exploring metabolic pathway differences between the parasitic oomycete Achlya hypogyna and its free-living relative Thraustotheca clavata.
Thea Popolizio
PhD student
Email: tpopolizio{at}my.uri.edu
Thea is expanding our understanding of Bermuda's algal diversity, using a combination of DNA sequencing of key samples and careful morphological investigations. Her project is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Craig Schneider, at Trinity College.
Tom Shamp
BSc student
Email:t.shamp14{at}gmail.com
Tom is assisting Thea with the Bermuda Seaweed project by extracting DNA, amplifying and sequencing PCR products from Bermuda red algal samples. Tom traveled to Bermuda in the summer of 2012 to collect and process samples for his project as part of an NSF supplement.
Alyssa Rogers
BSc student
Email:alyssa_rogers{at}my.uri.edu
Alyssa is assisting Thea with the Bermuda Seaweed project by extracting DNA, amplifying and sequencing PCR products from Bermuda brow algal samples. Alyssa was a 2012 EPSCoR summer research fellow and is continuing her research during the 2012-2013 academic year.
Liz Sullivan
BSc student
Email:esullivan2{at}my.uri.edu
Liz is assisting Nic with the sequencing and assembly of the Gracilariopsis andersonii plastid genome project. Liz was a 2012 INBRE summer research fellow and is working in the lab for the 2012-2013 academic year, completing her project.
Amy Boisvert
BSc student
Email:amy_boisvert{at}my.uri.edu
Amy is tackling the green algae from the Bermuda Seaweed project by extracting DNA, amplifying and sequencing PCR products from Bermuda samples.
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Ian Misner
PhD 2012
Email:ianmisner{at}my.uri.edu
Currently a postdoc at Towson University
Ian's focus is comparative nuclear genomics of oomycetes. Ian sequenced the genomes of the parasitic Achlya hypogyna and the free-living Thraustotheca clavata during his PhD. Ian's project was a collaborative effort with Dr. Craig Bailey, at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.
Megan O’Brien
MS 2012
Email: obrienm{at}mail.uri.edu
Currently a Fullbright Fellow studying marine policy in Iceland
Megan used comparative mitochondrial genomics to examine a local red algal host/parasite pair, which are not directly related to one another. Her project shed light on genomic changes in parasites with multiple hosts.
Lily Hancock
MSc 2010
Email: lhancock{at}mail.uri.edu
After working as a technician at the NYBG, Lily began a PhD at Brown University in 2012.
Lilly used adelphoparasite and host mitochondial genomes to understand genome evolution in recently-evolved parasites. Her comparative analyses addressed some of the genomic consequences of becoming a parasite.

