TEAM

in alphabetical order

DR. ROXANNE BEINART

Assistant Professor

rbeinart@uri.edu

401-874-6492

@SymbiosisRox

Google Scholar

AIDAN BOVING

Undergraduate Researcher

aidanboving@uri.edu

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.

OLIVER CAREY

Undergraduate Researcher

oliver_carey@uri.edu

Interests: astrobiology, astronomy and astrophysics, and the resiliency of life as we know it.

ABI GOODMAN

Undergraduate Researcher

abigail_goodman@uri.edu

RAUL GUTIERREZ

MS student

ragutierrez@uri.edu

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.

DR. JOHANA ROTTEROVÁ

Postdoctoral researcher

I am interested in the evolution of anaerobiosis and the symbioses happening between anaerobic eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Currently working on prokaryotic symbionts of marine and brackish anaerobic ciliates.

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.

Team: Lab Members

LAB ALUMNI

ERIN FRATES

Undergraduate Researcher
B.S. Cell and Molecular Biology (concentration in biochemistry, minor in chemistry)
URI '20

esfrates@my.uri.edu

Interests: astrobiology- extremophiles, how life exists, adapts, and evolves in extreme environments.

BEN TOLES

Undergraduate Researcher
B.S. Cell and Molecular Biology (concentration in biochemistry)
URI '20

btoles@my.uri.edu

Interests: bacterial community interactions, the human microbiome, symbiosis, and deep-sea antimicrobial activity.

Team: Our Team