Principal Investigator: Dr. Jennifer Smith
Dr. Jennifer Smith is a Professor of marine ecology and conservation in the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. Dr. Smith’s lab studies human impacts on marine ecosystems, from coral reefs to kelp forests. Her research often goes beyond basic ecology by integrating conservation, restoration, management, and sustainability. While much of the Smith lab is focused on addressing pressing issues in marine ecology, lab members are increasingly interested in sustainable seafood, coastal aquaculture, and habitat restoration. Dr. Smith and her team are largely focused on the study of seaweeds because of their immense potential to improve global sustainability and contribute to a carbon neutral future.
Research Interests
- Phycology, the Study of Seaweeds
- Coral Reef, Intertidal and Kelp Forest Ecology
- Conservation Biology
- Aquaculture
- Human Impacts on Marine Communities
- Global Change
- Ocean Solutions, Sustainability
- Blue Carbon
Postdoctoral Scholars
Dr. Or Ben-Zvi
o1benzvi@ucsd.edu
Dr. Adi Khen
akhen@ucsd.edu
Dr. Lingjie Zhou
liz047@ucsd.edu
Dr. Laís Lima
lfolima@ucsd.edu
Dr. Rosie Harris
r1harris@ucsd.edu
PhD Students
Daniel Conley
d1conley@ucsd.edu
Sarah Romero
slromero@ucsd.edu
Mo Sedarat
msedarat@ucsd.edu
Dillon Dolinar
ddolinar@ucsd.edu
Masters Students
Marie Diaz
mad001@ucsd.edu
Will Schneider
wschneid@ucsd.edu
Mitch Smelser
mhsmelser@ucsd.edu
Angelica Dimas
adimas@ucsd.edu
Kanisha Contractor
kcontrac@ucsd.edu
Tess Rounds
trounds@ucsd.edu
Katelyn Meyer
k1meyer@ucsd.edu
Natalie Zembsch
nzembsch@ucsd.edu
Conor Elliott
celliott@ucsd.edu
Elayna Osterman
eosterma@ucsd.edu
Bella Wu
i1wu@ucsd.edu
Bobby Wu
tow006@ucsd.edu
Staff Researchers
Samantha Clements, M.S.
Lab Manager smclemen@ucsd.edu
Kalani Ortiz, M.S.
k2ortiz@ucsd.edu
Volunteers
- Hayley Hall
- Emmaline Ocain
- Yulisma Martinez
- George Nassar
- Ella Coulson
- AJ Feller
- Kai Moore
- Rachel Zhou
Past Members
Postdoctoral Scholars
Dr. Matthew Hargrave (2023)
-Currently employed at Volta Labs
Dr. Gal Dishon (2022)
-Currently employed at Blue Ocean Barns
Dr. Emily Kelly (2018)
-Currently a Postdoctoral Fellow with Stanford's Center for Ocean Solutions and World Economic Forum's Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Dr. Ryota Nakajima (2018)
-Currently a Principal Investigator at JAMSTEC (find his website here)
Dr. Nichole Price (2014)
-Currently a Principal Investigator at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Dr. Andi Haas (2013)
-Currently a Principal Investigator at NIOZ Royal Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University
PhD Students
Dr. Orion McCarthy (2024)- Currently the Science Lead for SeaTrees
Dr. Adi Khen (2022)
- Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher with Dr. Jennifer Smith at SIO
Dr. Abigail Cannon (2019)
- Currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Dr. Amanda Carter (2018)
- Currently employed at the National Science Foundation
Dr. Michael Fox (2018)
- Currently an Assistant Research Professor at KAUST
Dr. Levi Lewis (2016)
- Currently a Postdoctoral Scholar at UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory
Dr. Maggie Johnson (2016)
- Currently an Assistant Professor at KAUST
Dr. Emily Kelly (2015)
-Currently a Postdoctoral Fellow with Stanford's Center for Ocean Solutions and World Economic Forum's Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Dr. Jill Harris (2015)
Master's Students
Isabella Doohan (2022)
Sabrina Sauri (2022)
Hannah Resetarits (2022)
- Currently employed at Blue Ocean Barns
Jonathan Charendoff (2021)
- Currently employed at JIMAR
Corinne Amir (2019)
- Currently employed at JIMAR
Christina Jayne (2018)
- Currently employed at DAR Honolulu
Gideon Butler (2016)
Nicole Pedersen (2016)
- Currently employed at SIO with Dr. Stuart Sandin
Samantha Clements (2015)
- Currently Lab Manager & Research Associate in the Smith Lab at SIO
Molly Gleason (2013)
Susan Kram (2013)
Clinton Edwards (2013)
- Currently a Ph.D. student at SIO with Dr. Stuart Sandin
Research Staff
Isabella Doohan - Research Associate (2023)
Hannah Resetarits - Research Associate (2023)
Kyra Black - Research Associate (2022)
Brant Chlebowski - Research Associate (2020)
- Founder of California Seaweed Co.
Kelsey Miller - Research Associate (2019)
- Currently a Ph.D. student at Simon Fraser University
Niko Kaplanis - Research Associate (2017)
- Currently a Ph.D. student at UC Santa Cruz
Clinton Edwards - Research Associate (2016)
- Currently a Ph.D. student at SIO with Dr. Stuart Sandin
Susan Kram - Lab Manager & Research Associate (2016)
Tiffany Teng (2013)
Currie Dugas - Lab Manager (2011)
Jackie Tran - Research Assistant (2011)
Past Volunteers
Nicole Lopez (2024)Cai Rahman (2024)
Madison Churchill (2024 - MAS Student)
Cali Lingle (2024)
Cal Costa (2024)
Bella Wu (2024)
Kaycey Bui (2023)
Ailish Ullmann (2023)
Lindsay Carroll (2023)
Haley Chasin (2023)
Kat Guerrero (2023)
Megan Patton (2023)
Beverly Scharnhorst (2023)
Charlotte Sue (2022)
Jenny Grossman (2022)
Lindsey Badder (2022)
Anna Custodio (2022)
Brandon Tsai (2022)
Andre Lai (2022)
Victoria Vasquez (2022)
Solomon Chang (2022)
Varun Sachin Shirhatti (2022)
Zach Yamada (2021)
Elise Gonzales (2021)
Steven Shuster (2021)
Kimi Rogers (2021 - MAS Student)
Jack Ewing (2021)
Brooke Denney (2021)
Kaniela Zhen (2021)
Ashley Pries (2020)
Chelsea Eckhart (2020)
Conor Elliot (2020)
Ella Kim (2020)
Emily Bornhop (2020)
Faith Huang (2020)
Giulia Luerti (2020)
John Carson (2020)
Lauren Cho (2020)
Lizzie Raphaels (2020)
Peter Pham (2020)
Alyssa Cohen (2019)
Erin Hollander (2019)
Jilian Goguen (2019)
Sabrina Phan (2019)
Claire Kosinski (2019)
Sarah Romero (2019)
Ryan Hur (2019)
Kristina Dizon (2019)
Emily Lever (2019)
Shania Schull (2018)
Katya Reshatoff (2018)
Julie Kring (2018)
Karina Arzuyan (2018)
Will Schneider (2018)
Chloe Kotik (2018)
Matthew Pawinski (2018)
Amanda Leu (2018)
Michelle Loewe (2018 - MAS Student)
Kelsey Miller (2018 - MAS Student)
Michael Carlson (2018)
Cassie Paumard (2018)
Sara Borchers (2018)
Michelle Prieto (2018)
Cynthia Zhang (2017)
Jessica Glanz (2017)
Mario Gaytan (2017)
Ellis Juhlin (2017)
Maurizio Martinelli (2017 - MAS Student)
Marelle Arndt (2017)
Alexandra Reich (2017)
Spencer Breining-Aday (2017)
Mackenzie Brandt (2017)
Annika Vawter (2017)
Carolina Carpenter (2016)
Ellie Williams (2016)
Stephanie Lee (2016)
Nathalie Staiger (2016)
Aaron Keohane (2016 - MAS Student)
Amelia Scharp (2015)
Temur Imam (2015)
Macey Rafter (2015)
Mallory Morgan (2015 - MAS Student)
Lenell Sagastume (2014)
Jennifer Le (2014)
Bella Doohan (2014)
Garrett Stewart (2014)
Alex Neu (2014)
Laurence Romeo (2014 - MAS Student)
Carolyn Kim (2013)
Elena Perez (2013 - MAS Student)
Conner Holland (2013)
Erika D'Andrea (2013)
Eric Engel (2013)
Daniel Conley (2012)
Krista Catelani (2012)
Sarah Urata (2012)
Ashley Cunningham (2012)
Zoe Dagan (2012)
Daniel Coffee (2012)
Abigail Cannon (2012)
Jennifer Bone (2012)
Sierra Basegio (2011)
Portia Seautelle (2011)
Rachel Graham (2011)
Grace Koyama (2011)
Ellen Umeda (2011)
Rachel Levin (2011)
George Balchin (2011)
Kevin Moses (2011 - REU Student)
Karen Dunleavy (2011)
Avantika Sinha (2011)
Rebecca Soloway (2011)
Shino Ogawa (2010)
Javier Cuetos-Bueno (2011- MAS Student)