I am a postdoctoral fellow working on the association of bacterial communities with the diatom Thalassiosira rotula. Specifically, I am investigating the differential transcriptome-wide responses of the diatom cultivated under axenic conditions and in co-culture with its bacterial epibionts. My broader research interest is in symbiotic relationships between organisms. I received my PhD in Marine Sciences from Stony Brook University (NY) in 2014 and a Master’s degree in Marine Biology from Nova Southeastern University (FL) in 2009. During my Master’s research I worked on reef corals and became interested in the mutually beneficial relationship between corals and their symbionts. Later, during my PhD research, I studied a parasitic disease of hard clams and I have learned that there are many similarities in the molecular mechanisms of these different symbiotic associations. In the future I hope to continue working on the molecular bases of communication, recognition and selectivity between hosts and symbionts as well as other molecular factors driving symbiosis. In my free time, I love to go on scuba diving adventures. I am the happiest underwater where I can feel weightless and enjoy the beauty of aquatic life.