CV

Education

• Ph.D in Marine Biology, University of New Hampshire, 2025
• M.S. in Biological Sciences: Integrative & Organismal Biology, University of New Hampshire, 2022
• B.S. in Genetics, Clemson University, 2019

Research interests

Marine biology, population genomics, conservation genomics, comparative genomics, marine ecology, differential gene expression, genomic responses under a changing climate, epigenetics and genomic adaptations, metagenomics, quantitative ecology, bioinformatics, open access programming, theoretical modeling, machine learning, neural networks, disturbance ecology, marine pathogen dynamics

Publications

Total citations:22, H-index:4 as of 1 October, 2024

Diet of the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) during range expansion in Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire

Meyer-Rust, K.A., Strickland, A., Lee, BY. et al. Diet of the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) during range expansion in Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire. BMC Genomics 25, 1238 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-024-10907-w

Population genomics of eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, in a well-mixed estuarine system: advancement and implications for restoration strategies

Strickland, A., Brown, B.L. Population genomics of eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, in a well-mixed estuarine system: advancement and implications for restoration strategies. BMC Genomics 25, 1171 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-024-10988-7

Abundance, Sex and Size Distribution of European Green Crabs, Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1785), at Natural and Aquacultured Oyster Areas in Great Bay Estuary, NH

Meyer-Rust, K., Lee, B.-Y., Moll, R.J., Strickland, A., Bradt, G., Goldstein, J.S. and Brown, B.L. (2024), Abundance, Sex and Size Distribution of European Green Crabs, Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1785), at Natural and Aquacultured Oyster Areas in Great Bay Estuary, NH. Aqua. Fish & Fisheries, 4: e70009. https://doi.org/10.1002/aff2.70009

Haplosporidium nelsoni and Perkinsus marinus occurrence in waters of Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire

Stasse, A., Lee, B. & Brown, B. Haplosporidium nelsoni and Perkinsus marinus occurrence in waters of Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire. Dis. Aquat. Org. (2024) doi:10.3354/dao03787.

Using the Soundscape Code to compare coastal marine habitats in the Gulf of Maine

Milne, G. A. et al. Using the Soundscape Code to compare coastal marine habitats in the Gulf of Maine. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 154, A171 (2023) doi:10.1121/10.0023165

First Documentation of Mating Blue Crabs, Callinectes sapidus, in Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire

Stasse, A., Meyer, K., Williams, E., Bradt, G. & Brown, B. L. First Documentation of Mating Blue Crabs, Callinectes sapidus, in Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire. nena 30, N8–N12 (2023) doi:10.1656/045.030.0106

Evaluating Connectivity of Coastal Marine Habitats in the Gulf of Maine by Integrating Passive Acoustics and Metabarcoding

Milne, G. et al. Evaluating Connectivity of Coastal Marine Habitats in the Gulf of Maine by Integrating Passive Acoustics and Metabarcoding. Oceanog (2023) doi:10.5670/oceanog.2023.s1.32.

Temporal Dynamics of Eastern Oyster Larval Abundance in Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire

Stasse, A., Cheng, M.L.H., Meyer, K., Bumbera, N., Van Volkom, K., Laferriere, A., Dijkstra, J.A., Brown, B.L. Temporal Dynamics of Eastern Oyster Larval Abundance in Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire. shre 40, 471–478 (2022). doi:10.2983/035.040.0303

Research and relevant experiences

January 2022 - May 2025: PhD graduate research

University of New Hampshire

Supervisor: Dr. Bonnie Brown

• Compared genomes of wild and cultivated eastern oysters to assess genetic diversity.
• Assessed Haplosporidium nelsoni and Perkinsus marinus in eastern oysters through sequencing data.
• Determined gene sequences that contribute to MSX-tolerance in eastern oysters.
• Analyzed epigenetic modifications that could contribute to inherited disease tolerance.
• Inferred population viability of eastern oyster through theoretical modeling.

January 2022 - September 2024: Editor

UNH Research and Large Center for Development

• Edited large grant proposals for numerous agencies, such as NSF and NIH.
• Worked directly with PI’s to produce successful large-scale funding opportunities.

Summer 2023: AI Innovation Fellow - Machine Learning Track

Stanford University - Inspirit Innovators

• Attended sessions dedicated to advanced AI learning, including concepts, applications, and live coding.
• Created benthic ecology photo identification program using knowledge gained from sessions.
• Applied the created AI program into research conducted at the UNH Brown lab.

August 2020 – May 2022: Medical Laboratory Technician

UNH COVID-19 Laboratory

Supervisor: Dr. W. Kelley Thomas

• Performed a variety of routine and specialized medical laboratory diagnostic tests for the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Optimized laboratory testing to acommodate high-throughput testing.
• Performed RNA extraction, isolation, and rt-PCR in a BS-3 laboratory setting.
• Utilized professional judgment in interpretations of clinical lab results and in responding to unusual situations.

Fall 2019 – December 2021: MSc graduate research

University of New Hampshire

Supervisor: Dr. Bonnie Brown

• Quantified and identified parasitic infections using qcPCR in Crassostrea virginica.
• Compared parasitic infections in farmed and wild oysters.
• Assessed eastern oyster larval abundance in GBE in conjunction with physicochemical data.

Talks

Conference Proceeding talk 3 on Relevant Topic in Your Field

March 01, 2014

Conference proceedings talk at Testing Institute of America 2014 Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA

Talk 2 on Relevant Topic in Your Field

February 01, 2014

Talk at London School of Testing, London, UK

Tutorial 1 on Relevant Topic in Your Field

March 01, 2013

Tutorial at UC-Berkeley Institute for Testing Science, Berkeley CA, USA

Talk 1 on Relevant Topic in Your Field

March 01, 2012

Talk at UC San Francisco, Department of Testing, San Francisco, California

Teaching

Teaching experience 2

Teaching experience 1

Service and leadership