Lab Alumni

Corday Selden Ph.D 2021

As a member of both the Chappell and Mulholland labs at ODU, I employ ‘omics techniques to understand the interplay between ecological and biogeochemical processes and stable-isotope tracers to quantify rates of nitrogen and carbon transformations in marine systems (e.g. nitrogen fixation, nitrogen compound uptake, carbon fixation). My PhD has focused on the distribution of nitrogen fixation, the microbially-mediated catalysis of N₂ gas to ammonium, and nitrogen-fixing organisms known as diazotrophs along the estuary to ocean continuum with respect to physico-chemical gradients. In my time at ODU, I have been involved in multiple projects including delineating the range of nitrogen fixation across oxygen gradients in the Eastern Tropical North and South Pacific oxygen deficient zones and estimating the contribution of diverse diazotroph communities along the eastern North American continental shelf to the North Atlantic nitrogen inventory.

Before coming to ODU I received my B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry at Eckerd College, during which time I worked with Dr. David Hastings and collaborators at the University of South Florida to understand the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on sediment redox conditions and benthic foraminifera. I graduated in three years and completed a senior thesis in which I developed a foraminiferal relative-dominance index to assess changes in sediment oxygenation. I subsequently worked as a Biological Scientist at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, the research arm of the state’s conservation commission, where I assessed seagrass ecosystem health and water quality.