Lab Members
Dr. Natalie Cohen (she/her)
I am an Assistant Professor in Biological Oceanography at the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and Department of Marine Sciences. I received my PhD from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining SkIO, I was a Simons Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
I am fascinated by the diversity of microbial eukaryotes and the many ways in which they interact with their chemical environment. Outside of work, my hobbies include eating large amounts of food, laying on the beach, and touring historical buildings.
Claire Zwiers Cook (she/her)
Claire is a Marine Science PhD student at UGA, based at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. Before joining the lab, Claire did her undergraduate at the University of Michigan studying harmful algae blooms in Lake Erie with Dr. Greg Dick. She was also a NOAA Hollings Intern and Scholar studying methane profiles off the West Coast of the United States with Dr. David Butterfield.
These experiences got Claire excited about the world of microbes and how these organisms shape large global ecosystems and processes. In the Cohen Lab, Claire studies mixotrophy, the ability for organisms to both perform photosynthesis and phagotrophy. These multitasking organisms are important to global carbon and nutrient cycles, but are difficult to measure in the natural environment. Claire’s projects focus on measuring mixotrophy across large biogeochemical gradients and also determining if trace metal limitation in Southern Ocean mixotrophs increases grazing. Outside the lab, Claire enjoys gardening, reading, and spending time outside.
Mallory Mintz (she/her)
Mallory is a Marine Science Ph.D. student at UGA’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. She earned her undergraduate degree in Geology from Carleton College, where she used lake sediment records to understand environmental change. Before starting graduate school, she worked in marine science research and field programs at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Friday Harbor Laboratories, aboard the R/V JOIDES Resolution, and with the National Park Service.
Her current research focuses on harmful algal blooms in coastal Georgia. She is working to establish seasonality and identify physiochemical drivers of bloom-forming species in the Skidaway River Estuary. Her work builds on the efforts of the local chapter of NOAA’s Phytoplankton Monitoring Network, and she invites additional opportunities for collaboration and outreach.
Beyond the bench top, Mallory is often found in the ceramics studio or planning her next backpacking trip.
Lizzy Wu (she/her)
Lizzy is a doctoral student at UGA's Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, studying the metal physiology of Southern Ocean diatoms and their unique adaptations to varying manganese and zinc regimes. With her research, she hopes to further our understanding of Southern Ocean primary productivity and predict how these organisms will adapt in our changing climate.
She earned her undergraduate degree in Biological Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. It was here that she got her first exposure to research- focusing on the impact Harmful Algal Blooms have on local fisheries species. She later became an NSF REU researcher in the NOISE Lab at UCSB, investigating how varying redox conditions impact iron speciation in temperate fjord ecosystems, and the resulting implications for organic matter preservation; this got her excited about how microbial communities in the sediment alter the chemical environment. Lizzy is fascinated by all the ways microbes help shape Earth's environments, leading her to continue this exploration in graduate school. In her free time, she loves reading, adding to her record and CD collections, and getting outdoors in any way possible.
Debbrota (Dev) Mallick (he/him)
Dev has recently joined SkIO as a post-doctoral associate in the Cohen and Ohnemus Labs. During his PhD in the University of South Alabama, he studied chromium (Cr) isotope systematics in near shore coastal waters, especially in estuaries. His research project helped in better understanding the species-species isotopic fractionation of fluvial Cr in estuarine environments. Here at SKIO, he is interested in understanding the physiology of marine phytoplankton in seawater as a function of trace metals.
Outside of work, he likes to go for long drives, soccer, hiking, kayaking, movies and concerts.
Sean Anderson
Sean recently joined the Cohen Lab as a postdoctoral researcher, marking an excited return to UGA and the Skidaway Institute where he conducted his PhD research on phytoplankton mortality in the local estuary. His most recent position was an NSF-funded postdoctoral fellowship with the Center for Chemical Currencies of a Microbial Planet (C-CoMP), where he used multiple ‘omics tools to characterize the ecology and biogeochemistry of protist parasites. Prior to that, he worked for NOAA (AOML) as a postdoc, focusing on ‘omics methods development and leading DNA sampling efforts in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to his research, Sean has enjoyed student mentoring in the lab and sharing his love of phytoplankton through outreach events.
At UGA, Sean will be joining an interdisciplinary research project that is aimed at better understanding food web dynamics along the continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Bight. His work will merge traditional imaging measurements (FlowCam and flow cytometry) with ‘omics techniques to explore phytoplankton communities and their drivers over spatial scales in these marine ecosystems.
When he is not thinking about phytoplankton, Sean loves to spend time in nature, get lost in a book, explore new coffee shops, and spoil his adventurous cat.
YOU!
The lab is seeking undergraduate and graduate students! There are in-person laboratory, field and computational/remote opportunities available. Potential projects include evaluating the role of trace metals in shaping microbial communities, characterizing coastal phytoplankton physiology in response to micronutrient availability, and investigating shifts in protistan metabolism across geochemical gradients through ’omic techniques. Feel free to contact Natalie for more details at cohen@uga.edu
Alumni
Kayleigh Everhart (Undergraduate Research) - Fall 2024
Lucy Quirk (MS student) - 2021-2024
Felipe Quintana (SkIO Summer Intern) - Summer 2024
Erin Murphy (Marine Extension & GA Sea Grant Fellow) - Spring 2024
John Googe (Undergraduate Research) - Fall 2023
Lavon Young (Savannah State REU) - Summer 2023
Neha Shah (SkIO Summer Intern) - Summer 2023
Elizabeth Szink (SkIO Summer Intern) - Summer 2022
Karrie Bulski (Research Technician) - 2020-2022
Charlotte Greene (SkIO Summer Intern) - Summer 2021