Welcome!

I am a geomicrobiologist and senior editor of biogeochemistry on the Earth team at the Springer Nature journal, Nature Communications. To understand the mutual interactions between microorganisms and their surroundings, my research harnesses the power of an interdisciplinary approach, bridging the divide between the fields of Earth and Life science. This exciting work allows me to investigate the relationships between microorganisms and their environment in some of the most extreme places on Earth, including boiling hot springs , energy-starved, deeply buried marine sediments, Arctic sediments, Antarctic permafrost, and high-altitude hypersaline lakes.

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I continue to collaborate on the NASA Astrobiology Institute ENIGMA project. I’m also an instructor for the Bioinformatics Virtual Coordiatation Network, formed in response to COVID-19 forcing researchers to move their experiments from the lab to the computer.

I received my B.Sc. in Biology (2011) from Tennessee Technological University. I received my M.Sc. in Geoscience (2014) and Ph.D. in Microbiology (2018) from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I was a postdoctoral fellow under the co-advisement of Dr. Robert Hazen and Dr. Donato Giovannelli at the Earth and Planets Laboratory at Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, DC (2019-2020).

My academic journey may seem disjointed – going from zoology, to geology, to microbiology. Independently, each of these fields do in fact use very different tools and have unique perspectives to offer. My inexhaustible curiously about nature and our place in space drove me to each of these fields. I’m an interdisciplinarian and understand that the marriage of knowledge gained from each discipline leads us to answer bigger questions about our universe than each discipline could answer alone.


Dr. Karen Lloyd highlights my take on the climate crisis at the National Academies of Science. Details outlined in Nature here.


I am part of the NSF-funded Arctic Research Coordination Network, Migrations in Harmony, which aims to support a resilient, just, and sustainable Arctic in motion. It is paramount that we center the voices of those who are most impacted by climate change and environmental racism.

Dedication to practicing allyship

Despite many programs, grants, and workshops aimed at increasing recruitment and retention of people of color in STEM fields, representation of scholars of color is woefully lacking. Dismantling the centries-old system that allows this to continue requires concerted and unapologetic efforts to decolonize science. This task falls on administrators, granting agencies, educators, and professional societies.

As a STEM professional, I believe building my toolkit of allyship is an integral part of my job. Throughout my academic pursuits, I have been actively involved in numerous organizations and outreach programs to further the inclusion of women and minoritized students in STEM. I founded the Knoxville chapter of 500 Women Scientists in 2017 and through this, we provide scientific programming to young scholars of color in a partnership with East Tennessee Freedom Schools. In the wake of the devastating hurricane Maria in 2017, I organized a local science salon to raise money for researchers in hard-hit Puerto Rico. I was recognized as an extraordinary scientist advocate from the Union of Concerned Scientists for these efforts and have continued to place high priority on mentorship and outreach in my career.

Selected resource compilations:

• Start somewhere: Resources on equity and inclusion for STEM and higher education
  
• Talking about Race in Earth and Space Science compiled by J. C. Lerback.
  
• Anti-racism in STEM & Academia Self Education Resources by Aurora Roth, Kathleen McKee, Naomi Ochwat, and Anna Simpson.
  
• School of Earth and Space Exploration Faculty Resource Grid by Dr. Christy Till.
  
• Diverse STEM researcher compilation by Dr. Melanie Melendrez-Vallard
  
• Recognize Microagressions on Campus
  
• ADVANCEGeo Partnership
• Particles for Justice
  
• #ShutDownSTEM
  
• Test your implicit bias
  

Image credit: Dr. Sarah Tuttle

I am grateful for past and present funding from the Deep Carbon Observatory, NASA Astrobiology Institute, C-DEBI, the Explorer’s Club, the Society for Sedimentary Geology, the Society for Organic Petrology, and the Geological Society of America.