Research Seminar: Mónica Medina Presents "Dissecting Photosymbiotic Cnidarian Holobionts"

The Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) is excited to partner with the Division of Life Sciences to recruit the CSRC’s inaugural Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) STEM Faculty Director.

The Search Committee would like to invite you to attend the following job talk. The candidate will present during a Special Seminar both in-person at the Chicano Studies Research Library (144 Haines Hall), and streamed via Zoom. The talks will also be recorded for those unable to attend.

 

Abstract: The coral holobiont is comprised of a complex community of microbial partners who each brings its own suite of interactions with one another. The best studied interaction is that between the coral and the photosynthetic algal endosymbionts in the family Symbiodiniaceae. However, we are starting to uncover the role of other microorganisms that also have important metabolic complementarity roles in holobiont dynamics. I will describe some of these interactions in coral and other cnidarian holobionts, and how they may shape host physiology and may vary over ontogeny.

Bio: Mónica Medina trained as a marine biologist at the University of Miami. She did a first postdoc at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA and a second postdoc at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Mónica took a research scientist position at the Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, CA where she started her work on coral genomics. After 8 years at the University of California Merced, she relocated to Penn State University where she is a professor of biology.

 

Zoom link Meeting ID: 971 4760 9325 Passcode: 079496