Marine Microbial Ecology Group
Ocean Sciences Department
University of California, Santa Cruz
Meet Our Team
Jonathan P. Zehr
Principal Investigator (PI)
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
My research focuses on how microorganisms control the availability of nitrogen, a critical element in all life as we know it.
Kendra Turk-Kubo
Principal Investigator (PI)
Assistant Professor
My research interests include understanding the environmental factors driving the diversity, biogeography and activity of marine nitrogen-fixing microbes.
Kendra Turk-Kubo Google Scholar
Tyler Coale
Postdoctoral Scholar
My focus is on the haptophyte alga Braarudosphaera bigelowii which contains a nitrogen-fixing organelle or “nitroplast”. Using this system I study the integration of nitrogen fixation into a eukaryotic cell, and the process of primary endosymbiosis resulting in a new organelle. My research involves the replication of environmental conditions in the lab in order to connect cellular functioning to the understanding of biogeochemical processes.
Esther Mak
Postdoctoral Scholar
My research interest is in understanding marine diazotrophs—microorganisms that can fix atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by other organisms. I am particularly fascinated by the UCYN-A/haptophyte symbiosis, a partnership between two types of microorganisms that is found everywhere from the nutrient-poor open ocean to coastal areas and the cold waters of high latitudes.
I completed my undergraduate studies at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, earning my Bachelor’s degrees in Biochemistry and cell biology; and Environmental Sciences. My journey in ocean sciences led me to the Zehr Lab, where I pursued and completed my PhD. In January 2024, I started as a postdoc, aiming to expand our understanding of marine microbial communities and their role in marine ecosystems.
Britt Henke
Associate Specialist
I have over 10 years of experience in ocean science research and education with an M.S. in Ocean Sciences from UC Santa Cruz and seven years working as a laboratory specialist. My expertise is in marine ecology, encompassing ocean processes and evolution. I have participated in multiple expeditions and projects that have contributed to the advancement of this field. I have published my research in peer-reviewed journals and presented it at international conferences. I am passionate about environmental justice and always interested in projects that help mitigate our impact on the earth and her species.
Jonathan Magasin
Bioinformaticist
My goal is to improve our understanding marine microbial communities in their natural environments. To this end, I enjoy creating software tools to help analyze large data sets derived from marine environmental samples (metagenomic and metatranscriptomic) produced by next-generation sequencing and our MicroTOOLs microarray. I am also interested in how the staggering number of public marine environmental data sets archived in "omics" repositories can be used to discover marine microbes that are widespread but have been overlooked due to biases toward studying cultivable types.
Anna Voznyuk
Jr. Specialist
Hello! I first joined the Molecular Microbiology Ecology Group as a volunteer some three years ago as a junior in MCDB. I was eventually hired as a part time intern and worked on CARD-FISH and gene-FISH hybridizations as well as running DNA/RNA extractions and q-PCR screenings of samples from the NCDC project. After completing my bachelors and an Honors Senior Thesis under guidance of Dr. Turk-Kubo, I was hired as a full time Junior Specialist until my departure to graduate school at UC Santa Barbara this September.
Jocelyn Solano
Undergraduate Intern
I am a current undergraduate student at UC Santa Cruz, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science. Following completion of my bachelor’s degree, I intend to pursue a PhD in Ocean Sciences. My primary interest lies in learning more about the microbial food web and examining how it is influenced by climate change, as well as exploring its impacts on the marine ecosystem, including the effects on higher trophic levels of the food web.
Cristopher Paniagua
Undergraduate Intern
My name is Cristopher Paniagua and I'am currently pursuing my bachelors in Biology at UCSC. I'am interested in learning more about nitrogen fixation and how it affects ocean ecosystems all together.