Anyone who aspires to be a scientist be able to pursue that goal. Through both implicit and explicit biases, our field and our institution have failed to provide an environment that welcomes and nurtures non-white students. Diverse perspectives lead to better science. Black Lives Matter. Immigrants, along with international students and post-docs, have made great contributions to both the spirit and research of our lab. We try to provide a safe space for all people regardless of skin color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or place of birth. 

The goal of our research is to identify the ecological and genomic factors driving the evolution and diversification of diatoms. The major areas of research are described on the Research page. We address these questions using a blend of phylogenetic, experimental, and comparative genomic approaches. Our research takes us out in the field to make collections from oceans, lakes, rivers, bogs, and fens from all over the world. The cultures that come from these collections are the starting point for most projects. Much of the downstream research is highly computational and involves large genomic and transcriptomic datasets. While most lab members become broadly trained in all of these areas, some opt for projects that are strictly computational. See the Publications page for more examples of past and current research projects.