Welcome!     I am an aquatic microbial ecologist with training in phycology.  My research examines how trophic relationships structure planktonic communities. I am particularly interested in the physiology of mixotrophic protists that combine photosynthesis with heterotrophic ingestion of particulate matter, and their role in plankton community dynamics.  My work starts in the field, and is supported by culture experimentation and aquatic sensor networks. 

I am currently an Assistant Professor of Biology at Penn State Schuylkill. My postdoctoral work was done with  David White and Susan Hendricks through an NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Grant (see SENSE) at Hancock Biological Station. Previously, I served as the Director of Research and Education at Lacawac Sanctuary and Biological Field Station (Pocono Mountains, PA). I received my BS and PhD in biology from Temple University under Robert Sanders. 


​Keep up with me on twitter!