About Me
I am a Ph.D. candidate researching cnidarian immunity and disease. Specifically, I study Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), the most recent coral disease outbreak currently decimating reefs throughout the Caribbean. Traditionally, attempting to identify microorganisms as causative agents of disease has been the focus of many marine disease studies, but the role of microbial dysbiosis has been gaining momentum in the field. Because corals exist as a dynamic, multipartite symbiosis between the coral animal, photoendosymbiotic algae, and a rich consortium of microbes, I am interested in identifying the roles of each holobiont member during disease progression to gain a holistic view of SCTLD that can serve as a framework for future marine outbreak research.
Publications
07 October 2022
Advances in coral immunity 'omics in response to disease outbreaks
Traylor-Knowles, N., Baker, A. C., Beavers, K. M., Garg, N., Guyon, J. R., Hawthorn, A., MacKnight,
N. J., Medina, M., Mydlarz, L. D., Peters, E. C., Stewart, J. M., Studivan, M. S., & Voss, J. D. (2022). Advances in coral immunity ‘omics in response to disease outbreaks. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.952199
30 September 2022
Disease resistance in coral is mediated by distinct adaptive and plastic gene expression profiles
MacKnight, N. J., Dimos, B. A., Beavers, K. M., Muller, E. M., Brandt, M. E., & Mydlarz, L. D. (2022). Disease resistance in coral is mediated by distinct adaptive and plastic gene expression profiles. Science Advances, 8(39). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo6153
01 March 2022
Adaptive variation in homologue number within transcript families promotes expression divergence in reef-building coral
Dimos, B., Emery, M., Beavers, K., MacKnight, N., Brandt, M., Demuth, J., & Mydlarz, L. (2022). Adaptive variation in homologue number within transcript families promotes expression divergence in reef‐building coral. Molecular Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16414
17 February 2022
Alphaflexivirus Genomes in Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease-Affected, Disease-Exposed, and Disease-Unexposed Coral Colonies in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Veglia, A. J., Beavers, K., Van Buren, E. W., Meiling, S. S., Muller, E. M., Smith, T. B., Holstein, D. M., Apprill, A., Brandt, M. E., Mydlarz, L. D., & Correa, A. M. (2022). Alphaflexivirus genomes in stony coral tissue loss disease-affected, disease-exposed, and disease-unexposed coral colonies in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01199-21
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