Welcome entering Class of 2021!

Seven students have entered the JPBO in Summer and Fall 2020. Most of them were able to “get their feet wet” in their new labs this summer, and they are now all digging into their first semester of classes. We look forward to meeting these students in person over the coming year, but in the meantime, here are a few ‘fun facts’ about them.

Not pictured/in progress: Kela Bakari and Michael Meneses

Jaida Elcock is a member of Camrin Braun’s lab and comes to us from the University of Washington. Shei s interested in elasmobranch movement ecology and habitat use. She writes, “I am in love with the ocean despite growing up in the desert and I enjoy communicating science through social media.” Jaida also co-founded a nonprofit organization in June of 2020 called Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS) that is geared towards supporting women of color in the field of shark science. Jaida has many talents: she was a springboard diver for 7 years and also plays the flute.

 

 

 

Emmett Culhane Emmett is interested in the way that the movement of water structures the biology and ecology of the open ocean. As a member of Dr. Camrin Braun’s lab, his primary research focus is on the interaction between large predators and the dense communities of fishes in the Ocean Twilight Zone. Prior to joining the WHOI community, Emmett worked as a performer on multiple DARPA programs under the Information Innovation Office (I2O), where he contributed to research efforts in computer science for counter intelligence purposes. In the spring of 2020, Emmett completed a MSc in computer science at Yale University. Emmett lives with his partner and their giant hound dog Lizard King, and is an inexorable fisherman.

 

 

 

Katherine (Kate) Lane researches marine microbes using molecular, genetic, and computational tools in Maria Pachiadaki’s Lab. Previously, she received a Masters in Population Biology from UC Davis in Prof. Jonathan Eisen’s Lab, worked as metagenomic computational staff in Prof. Jill Banfield’s Lab at UC Berkeley, and completed her BA in Biology at Macalester College. Outside of the lab, Kate likes backpacking, gardening, and classical music.

 

 

Junkun Ren graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University with a B.S. in food science and engineering, and from Harvard School of Public Health with a MS in epidemiology. Shee also worked as a research assistant in epidemiology at Dartmouth College and in theoretical ecology at Peking University. She works with Prof. Mick Follows and is interested in marine ecology-related questions in general. In her spare time, Junkun enjoys reading fictions and playing video games. Junkun also tells us that she really loves cats and hopes she can have one in the near future.

 

 

Serena Sung-Clarke graduated from Swarthmore College in 2019 with a B.A. in Biology and Political Science. As an undergraduate, she conducted research on the immune system pathways of a symbiotic marine cnidarian. Before starting the Joint Program, she worked at a consulting firm on projects for U.S. EPA related to watershed protection, chemical contamination, and drinking water infrastructure. Serena has joined Mike Brosnahan’s lab and is looking forward to studying the biology and dynamics of toxic harmful algal blooms. In her free time, she enjoys reading, riding her bike, and trying out the ice cream shops of Cape Cod (very open to recommendations/opinions).