Marine Physiological Responses to Multiple Environmental Stressors 

My research focuses on investigating the physiological responses of marine invertebrates to multiple environmental stressors using both field and fully-factorial laboratory studies that encompass whole organism physiology and molecular techniques. My aim is to understand stress tolerance 

and physiological stress adaptations as they may predict potential effects of a changing global climate on species ranges, community dynamics, and invasion success. By integrating multi-stressor exposures (hypo-salinity, heat, aerial emersion, hypoxia) and collecting field environmental measurements to set stressor parameters, my research aims to closely simulate real-world environmental conditions in a controlled laboratory setting. Lastly, my proteomics work, which aims to understand the role sirtuins play in regulating the cellular stress response in marine invertebrates, is beginning to reveal sirtuins as a key modulator of important stress response proteins (antioxidants, metabolic proteins, molecular chaperones), thereby conferring stress tolerance in marine mussels.