People

Alison Gould, PhD (Principal Investigator)

Alison is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Temple University and an affiliated Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences. Her research focuses on the critical, yet often complex, relationships between animal hosts and beneficial bacteria in the marine environment. Her lab is developing the bioluminescent Siphamia-Photobacterium symbiosis as a vertebrate-bacteria model for studying the evolutionary ecology of microbial symbiosis and the mechanisms that promote specificity in the gut microbiome. Alison earned undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Biology from the University of Virginia, a master's degree in Marine Biology from San Francisco State's Estuary and Ocean Science Center, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Michigan.

Emma Román (PhD Student)

Emma received her Bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College in Biology. Through her studies in Vermont, she developed a love for evolutionary ecology and microbial symbioses. While she enjoys terrestrial activities, such as gardening and hiking, in her free time, two internships and several courses she took during her undergraduate career opened her eyes to the wonders of aquatic research. For her dissertation research Emma is investigating the community dynamics of the bioluminescent symbionts of the coral reef fish, Siphamia tubifer, and is working in collaboration with Dr. Tad Fukami’s Lab at Stanford University.

Hannah Osland (PhD Student)

Hannah is a PhD student studying the complex interactions between marine organisms and their microbial partners. Her research focuses on how bioluminescent bacteria influence the development of their host, the cardinalfish, to shed light on the complexities of symbiotic partnerships.

Hannah holds a BA degree in Biology from Pomona College and later earned her MSc in Environmental Science from Alaska Pacific University. She also gained valuable experience as a research technician at Kewalo Marine Laboratory, working on the Hawaiian bobtail squid-Vibrio system.

Madison Dautle (PhD student)

Madison is a self-described “data goblin” and is interested in finding hidden insights in complex, high dimensional datasets using computational biology, genomics, microbiology, machine learning, and AI. Her dissertation work focuses on how microbial assemblages contribute to community-level phenotypes and she seeks to identify the underlying dynamics driving these interactions. Madison earned her BS and MS in Bioinformatics from Rowan University and is currently supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP).