TEAM

in alphabetical order

DR. ROXANNE BEINART

Assistant Professor

rbeinart@uri.edu

401-874-6492

@SymbiosisRox

Google Scholar

DR. CORINNA BREUSING

Marine research associate

cbreusing@uri.edu

Google Scholar

My current work in the Beinart lab applies population genomic approaches to identify mechanisms of niche differentiation and ecological speciation in Alviniconcha hydrothermal vent snails and their chemosynthetic endosymbionts.

MICHELLE HAUER

PhD student

michellehauer@uri.edu

@minna_natura

I am interested in host-symbiont interactions, primarily at hydrothermal vents and other chemosynthetic environments. Some of the bigger-picture ideas that motivate my science include

how host and symbiont “communicate” or recognize one another to form a symbiosis, and the liminal cases that challenge the neatness of many of our standard dichotomies in biology (e.g.,

pathogen vs. mutualist). Using molecular and bioinformatic techniques, my current research seeks to understand the differences between host-associated symbionts (i.e., in the gills of hydrothermal vent snails from the Mariana back-arc) and their free-living counterparts (i.e., in the environment, where vent fluid mixes with deep ocean water); the division-of-labor among symbiont strains; and the potential role of viruses in host-symbiont dynamics.

VANESSA JIMENEZ

PhD student

vanessa.jimenez@uri.edu

ANNA SCHRECENGOST

PhD student

aschrecengost@uri.edu

I’m interested in anaerobic ciliates and their prokaryotic symbionts, specifically endosymbiotic methanogenic archaea.

Right now I am working with ciliates cultured from coastal marine sediment in New England, using molecular techniques to study the diversity and specificity of the symbiosis. I also plan to conduct environmental surveys and physiological experiments to learn more about the environmental parameters that govern their abundance and distribution, and to investigate the potential of this partnership to influence global biogeochemical cycles, especially through methane production.