Katie Crider
My interests involve using molecular methods to observe the activity of marine microbes, as well as their spatial and temporal distribution. Since joining the Mulholland and Chappell labs in June 2020, I have worked on quantifying the abundance and activity of diazotrophs in the Outer Banks, NC, as well as observing diatom:dinoflagellate population ratio shifts upon the addition of different Nitrogen species in the local Lafayette River. My PhD will focus on developing a molecular method to observe mixotrophic behavior in a local HAB-forming dinoflagellate, Margalefidinium polykrikoides. I will identify and characterize M. polykrikoides metabolic genes to develop a molecular method observing relative changes in heterotrophic activity of blooms in the field.
I graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and minors in Environmental Science and Dance. While at JMU, I studied microbial interactions between algae and associated free-living bacteria in high-biomass forming harmful algal blooms in the Wurch lab, specifically the HAB-forming species Microcystis aeruginosa and Aureococcus anophagefferens. In the summer of 2019, I participated in an REU program at the Duke University Marine Laboratory studying a phytoplankton bloom that occurred after Hurricane Florence. I also have a passion for science education and outreach, which I hope to continue at ODU. I was an Education Intern at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (Summer 2017) and an Education Outreach Extern at the Wildlife Center of Virginia (Summer 2018).