A new postdoc, Dr. Brittany Ott, joined the lab just in time for “Snowmageddon,” the heavy snowfall at the end of January. Brittany joins us from West Virginia University, where she earned her Ph.D. studying the gut and surface mucilage microflora of medicinal leeches. She has a strong background in microbiology and bioinformatics, and will be working on our collaboration with Chris Lane (University of Rhode Island) and Laura Katz (Smith College), which is funded by NSF’s program on the Genealogy of Life (GoLife) and focuses on SAR taxa (Stramenopile, Alveolate, and Rhizaria). My lab’s central focus will be on collecting molecular and morphological data from understudied dinoflagellate taxa (including cultures, single-cell isolates, and environmental samples), but we will address other SAR taxa as opportunity presents itself.

Brittany’s most recent paper is here: A Tale of Transmission: Aeromonas veronii Activity within Leech Exuded Mucus. Other articles include:

Ott, B. M., Cruciger, M., Dacks, A. M. and Rio, R. V. M. (2014). Scientific Reports 4.

Ott, B. M., Rickards, A., Gehrke, L. and Rio, R. V. M. (2015). Frontiers in Microbiology 5.

Runyen-Janecky, L. J., Brown, A. N., Ott, B., Tujuba, H. G. and Rio, R. V. M. (2010). Journal of Bacteriology 192, 3780-3787.

Welcome to the lab Brittany!