Principle Investigator

Desk Jockey and Ocean Lover. Maggie obtained her Sc.B in Marine biology at Brown University and her Ph.D. at University of Hawaii.

Maggie enjoys being outside whenever possible, when outside the lab she can usually be found rock climbing or camping with her dog, husband and daughter.

Email: maggies [at] ucr.edu

Doctoral Candidate

Seagrass Protector and Microbial Enthusiast. Diane obtained her B.S. in Biology with a concentration in Biotechnology at Miami Dade College.

Diane can often be found in the wild, camping, hiking, scuba diving, biking, surfing, or snowboarding. She needs to be watered often and exposed to the sun.

Email: dbrache-smith [at] ucmerced.edu

Doctoral Student

Mother to Aiptasia. Sophie obtained her B.S. in Marine Science at Eckerd College.

Outside the lab, Sophie enjoys hiking, scuba diving, and cooking.

Email: smacvittie [at] ucmerced.edu

Curriculum Vitae - PDF Download

Doctoral Student

Ocean Wonderer and Symbiosis Investigator.

Mara Schwiesow obtained a B.A. in both Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Philosophy from Cornell College.

Mara enjoys skiing, whitewater rafting, and hiking when she's not in lab.

Email: mschwiesow [at] ucmerced.edu

Postdoctoral Scholar

Metabolic Maven and Germ Guru. Vivian obtained her B.S. in Microbiology at The University of Texas at Arlington and her Ph.D. at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. During her Ph.D. training she studied how Salmonella Typhimurium, a pathogen that causes intestinal colitis, perceives the changing metabolic landscape of the gut to successfully cause disease.

Outside of the lab, Vivian loves to travel and is usually found cooking, baking, and spending time with her partner and their pets.

Doctoral Student

Emma obtained her B.S. in Evolution, Ecology, and Biodiversity with a minor in Spanish from UC Davis. When not in the lab, Emma enjoys hiking, exploring new places, and spending time along the coast, especially at the beach.

email: emmadeen[at]ucmerced.edu

Animal Technician

Helaina obtained her B.S. in Marine Biology with a minor in Earth Sciences from UC Santa Cruz. Her career in animal care began in undergrad, volunteering at the Tuna Research and Conservation Center for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, caring for bluefin and yellowfin tuna. Though she has a lifelong obsession with marine fauna, no animal is safe from her. Her hobbies include bird watching, lizard catching, tide pooling, and bone collecting.

Undergraduate Student

Matthew Corona is an undergraduate student expected to graduate in the spring of 2027 with a B.S. in Molecular Cellular Biology. Matthew enjoys collecting vinyl records, playing baseball, and propagating his own moss for terrariums