Members
DR. SARAH W. DAVIES
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
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Sarah hails from Canada and her path to Boston University took her through University of Victoria, University of Calgary, UT Austin and, UNC Chapel Hill. She is largely interested in understanding why some organisms are winners and others are losers, and what this means in the context of rapidly changing environments. Sarah lives for travel, hiking, nerding out, Halloween, brewery tastings, and now she enjoys experiencing all of these things (minus the beer) with her daughters Kingsley and Kennedy.
DR. CARSTEN GRUPSTRA
POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE RESEARCHER
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Carsten (Cas) received his PhD from Rice University after receiving his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He is joining the Davies Lab as a postdoctoral researcher; his research will focus on determining how selection, plasticity, and dispersal shape coral success under pressure from global climate change. For this, he will be using coral populations that are naturally exposed to variable temperature regimes in Palau. In his free time, Cas enjoys traveling, running and hiking with his dog, and sampling all kinds of foods and beverages.
HANNAH AICHELMAN
POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE RESEARCHER
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Hannah completed a B.S. in Environmental Science at UNC Chapel Hill, M.S. in Biology at Old Dominion University in the Barshis Lab, and PhD in the Davies Lab at BU. Her PhD work focused on understanding coral symbiosis under climate change stress across spatial and temporal scales, and utilized both genomic and phenomic tools. In her postdoc, Hannah is co-advised by Sarah Davies and Sean Mullen, and in addition to continuing work on coral resilience and cryptic diversity, also uses whole-genome resequencing data to identify SNPs associated with the presence or absence of an adaptive color pattern trait involving mimicry between two butterfly species. When she’s not nerding out about science, Hannah enjoys traveling to find delicious food and new breweries.
DANIEL WUITCHIK
PhD STUDENT
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Daniel received a B.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Victoria, during which he got his first aquarium and realized he really likes coral. This interest led him to work in larger public aquaria across Canada as an aquarium biologist. He then completed a M.Sc. in Ecology at the University of Calgary under the tutelage of Dr. Peter Vize. Daniel’s M.Sc. research focused on the genetic responses of coral to a variety of environmental cues. Outside of research, Dan enjoys fly fishing and adventuring with his dog.
MARIA VALADEZ INGERSOLL
PhD STUDENT
Maria earned a B.A in both Biology and Spanish at Swarthmore College – where she worked with Liz Vallen to express anemone proteins in yeast cells – before attending BU to pursue her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Bio with Sarah Davies and Tom Gilmore. Her research focuses on the molecular stress responses of coral and anemones with particular interest in the regulation of immunity and metabolism. When she’s not obsessing over the health of her lab animals, Maria enjoys biking, snowboarding (west coast best coast), and a good glass of cheap wine.
Jeric “JK” Da-Anoy
PhD STUDENT
JK is a Filipino Ph.D. student fascinated by evolution of metazoan complexity. He received his Master’s degree at the University of the Philippines, exploring stress response and evolutionary neurobiology under Dr. Cecilia Conaco’s supervision. His favorite pastimes include exploring nearby cafes, cooking, and talking to his niblings
LILI VIZER
PhD STUDENT
Lili is originally from Hungary but has been living in Scotland for the past 6 years. She completed her BSc in Marine Biology at the University of Aberdeen and received an MSc in Evolutionary Genetics from the University of Edinburgh. She is particularly interested in the genetics, evolution, and ecology of marine species. She joined the Biology PhD program at BU to combine her interests and work with Sarah Davies and Pete Buston. Her research focuses on understanding the genetic underpinnings of the competitive growth, induced by social behavior, displayed in Clown Anemonefish. In her free time, Lili likes hiking, nature photography, eating good food and sleeping.
MU-HAN CHEN
PhD STUDENT
Mu-Han obtained her B.S. in Life Science and B.B.A. in International Business from National Taiwan University. Her passion for nature motivated her to pursue an M.S. in Marine Biology at the University of Bremen in Germany, where she specialized in the chemical ecology of phytoplankton holobionts. Currently, she is thrilled to embark on her next adventure exploring coral holobionts in the Davies Lab. Apart from science, she enjoys jogging, swimming, stargazing, and cuddling with her cat.
ALLY SWANK
PhD STUDENT
Ally earned their B.S. from Ball State University in Indiana and completed their M.S. at Auburn University in Alabama, focusing on the ecology and evolution of marine systems under environmental stress. During their Ph.D. in the Davies Lab, they are excited to explore adaptation of corals at the population- and individual-level. If they aren’t in the lab, you’ll find them climbing, playing soccer, frolicking in the waves on the nearest beach, or shopping for a wild pair of socks (you’d be impressed with their collection).
KIAN THOMPSON
AQUARIUM TECHNICIAN
Kian is a recent Boston University graduate with a BA in Marine Science and a minor in Japanese. He continues to pursue his interest in marine life through working in the Davies Lab, Buston Lab, and the BUMP Lab. He has always loved marine animals and visiting aquariums from a very young age, especially in Japan, and he had marine aquariums at home for a few years. He enjoys cooking, snorkeling in warm places, occasional fishing, and going on drives!
Aden Nagree
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER/TECHNICIAN
Aden, a sophomore marine science major, is from San Francisco and has been obsessed with all things marine since he can remember. His experiences open water swimming in California’s marine habitats and as marine lab steward at NatureBridge have made him eager to join the Davies lab. In particular he is excited to understand the far reaching effects that environmental stressors have on marine organisms. In his free time he enjoys running, exploring the city for good eats, and chilling with his cat.
Ashley Phan
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER
Ashley is a junior from New Jersey majoring in Biology CMG. She enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and going to the beach. She is excited to gain research experience and learn more about marine life in the Davies Lab.
Audrey Wong
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER
Audrey is currently a sophmore majoring in Marine Science. She is from northern California and has a twin sister who is also attending a university on the east coast. She has always loved animals, but fell in love with marine animals after a research project in fifth grade, regarding the Blue Ring Octopus and Flamboyant Cuttlefish. She hopes to learn more about the underlying mechanisms of marine organisms and how that impacts their response to environmental stressors. She is excited to be a part of the Davies Lab and hopes to gain more research experience. In her free time, she likes to cook, sew, and go on walks.
Kamel Ramzi Moufarrej
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER
Kamel is a sophomore majoring in Biology. He is from Lebanon and lived in Abu Dhabi throughout high school. He grew up observing marine life in the Mediterranean Sea and this prompted him to join the Davies Lab. He is excited to gain research experience and is interested in potentially applying to medical school. In his free time, he enjoys going to the beach, hiking in the mountains, and playing soccer!
Shantelle Bartley
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER
Shantelle is a senior majoring in marine science at Boston University. Her time in Jamaica inspired a love for the ocean from a young age, especially marine megafauna. She also has a passion for restoration and conservation and hopes to make a positive impact in these areas. She hopes to gain research experience in the Davies lab that will further her understanding of climate change’s effects on marine life that she can apply in her future endeavors. When she’s not on the hunt to restore the world’s oceans, she enjoys singing, playing guitar, and reading.
Emma Francoeur
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER
Emma is a junior majoring in Biology with a Specialization in Behavioral Biology and a minor in Earth and Environmental Science. She’s from Manchester, Massachusetts and her love for the ocean started at a very young age as she spent her childhood around the water. She fell in love with marine life, especially this past summer doing a program through the SEA Association where she sailed along the Hawaiian Islands and studied their coral reefs. She’s hoping to gain a better understanding of specific relationships between marine life and how their behaviors are influenced by these complex relationships. She’s incredibly excited to gain more experience by working for the Davies Lab. In her free time she loves playing the ukulele, piano, and drawing.
Chenfei (Fay) Xu
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER
Chenfei is a senior advertising major with biology minor student from Shanghai. This unusual combination of major and minor is due to how she found herself more attracted to the science field and would love to place her passions for the environment and animals into her education. She has cared about animals for a very long time, but she was hesitant to do animal-related studies or jobs until the first semester of senior year. She is very excited to gain lab experience in the very last year of her undergrad!!
Natalia Sawicka
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER
Natalia Sawicka is a sophomore majoring in Marine Science and triple-minoring across Biology, the CAS Core Curriculum, and Visual Art in CFA. As an almost-native New Englander and Cape Cod summer resident, Natalia has had a deep love for the ocean (especially cetaceans!) for as long as she can remember, furthered by time spent on the SSV Corwith Cramer and at the Acadia Institute of Oceanography. She is especially interested in marine ecology and cannot wait to gain research experience in the Davies Lab! Natalia aspires to become a marine biologist and conservationist who channels art as a tool for activism and social change. In her free time, she can be found exploring outdoors, reading, drawing, painting, and singing.
David Ibbett
HONORARY MEMBER, MUSIC COMPOSER
Multiverse
WPI
David Ibbett, Ph.D. is a composer, educator and musical advocate for science. Based in Boston, he is a Professor at WPI and directs the Multiverse Concert Series, a project that combines music and science in live performance. His lifelong passion for science began with his father, Dr. Roger Ibbett, who is a research chemist in Nottingham, UK. David and Sarah have been collaborating on Reef Music events since 2018!