Early Career Accelerator Awardees

2026

Tanika Ladd, Western Washington University Postdoctoral Researcher. Participating in the Eastern Lau Spreading Center – Valu Fa Ridge (ELSC-VFR) hydrothermal vent expedition to investigate ecosystem change and potential recovery after a catastrophic volcanic eruption and gain training in deep-sea expedition leadership.

Georgia Nester, University of Western Australia Postdoctoral Researcher. Training with Dr. Annette Govindarajan at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on oceanographic and eDNA infrastructure, and presenting at the 2026 Global eDNA Conference.

Emily Palmer, University of Hawaii at Manoa Ph.D. Student. Training with Dr. Rhian Waller at the University of Gothenburg on deep-sea coral histological techniques to quantify fecundity and modes of reproduction.

Lauryn Pisciotto, University of Hawaii at Manoa Master’s Student. Participating in the 2026 Ocean Sciences Meeting and presenting gelatinous zooplankton biodiversity in the Clarion Clipperton Zone.

Lauren Rice, Florida State University Postdoctoral Researcher. Participating in the Eastern Lau Spreading Center – Valu Fa Ridge (ELSC-VFR) hydrothermal vent expedition to examine and describe the embryology of Alviniconcha snales that dominate the ecosystem and gain training in deep-sea expedition leadership.

2025

Jules Fillion, Harvard University Early Career Researcher. Participating in the 2025 American Geophysical Union Meeting and presenting how habitat complexity and niche differentiation structure deep-sea coral assemblages across the Blake Plateau.

Ruiqi Li, University of Colorado Boulder Postdoctoral Researcher. Training with Dr. Greg Rouse’s lab at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography on the taxonomy and anatomy of deep-sea chemosymbiotic organisms.

Elisa Nocella, Sapienza University of Rome Postdoctoral Researcher. Training on the phylogenetics and macroevolutionary reconstructions of corallivorous gastropods with Dr. Ellen Strong at the Department of Invertebrate Zoology of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, to address critical questions on species interactions and their ecological implications, particularly in coral reef and deep-sea environments.

Gustavo Ramirez, California State University, Los Angeles Junior Faculty. Participating in the 2025 American Geophysical Union Meeting and presenting the analysis of animal and hydrothermal fluid microbiomes at Costa Rican seamounts.

Adela Roa-Varón, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History Research Associate. Participating in the 12th Indo-Pacific Fish Conference (IPFC) and presenting the resolving of long-standing taxonomic challenges through phylogenomics.

Elizabeth Spiers, University of Texas at Austin Early Career Researcher. Participating in the 2025 American Geophysical Union Meeting and DeSSC New Users Program and presenting ways to merge the needs of planetary and oceanographic stakeholders to work together toward our shared goals.

Amanda Tregde, Ghent University (International Master in Marine Biological Resources) Master’s Student. Training with Dr. Fanny Girard at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Department of Oceanography on the reproductive biology of deep-sea coral species collected via ROV from seamounts in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Scott Wieman, MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering Ph.D. Student. Participating in the 2025 American Geophysical Union Meeting and presenting novel methodology for seep hunting and sample target identification.

2024

Victoria Assad, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Ph.D. Student. Training with Dr. Allen Andrews on otolith analysis for mesopelagic fishes and deep-sea fishes. Skill set will be applied to life history on the dominant fish in the CCZ.

Isabel Baker, Johns Hopkins University Postdoctoral Researcher. Training on the SIMS instrument in the Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Lab at Washington University in St. Louis to measure the sulfur isotope composition of pyrites from a range of already-collected environmental samples—including from deep sea methane seeps—to improve our understanding of the how potential disturbances to seafloor microbial ecosystem surfaces may be recognized in the geochemical record.

Katharine Bigham, University of Washington Postdoctoral Researcher. Training on Artificial Intelligence object detectors for seafloor marine benthic imagery at the Marine Imaging Workshop (MIW) and with collaborators at MBARI.

Ramesh Chatragadda, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa Early Career Researcher. Training with Dr. Dahiana Arcila (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) in environmental DNA metabarcoding, metagenomic sequencing techniques, and bioinformatics used in studying the genetic diversity and evolution of deep-sea zooplankton and fish.

Gabrielle Ellis, University of Hawaii at Manoa Ph.D. Student. Participating in the Deep Sea Biology Society Conference and presenting the temporal variability in the abyssal benthic boundary layer zooplankton community.

Amanda Kahn, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and San Jose State University Junior Faculty. Participating in the Cleft Segment expedition on the Juan de Fuca ridge to assess megafaunal community composition from several sites of hydrothermal brine discharge and gain training in deep-sea expedition leadership.

Judy Malas, University of Illinois Chicago Ph.D. Student. Participating in training course on Molecular Evolution at the Marine Biological Laboratory to learn new advanced genomic skill set to understand genetic adaptation of microbes to the deep sea.

Luke McCartin, Lehigh University Postdoctoral Researcher. Participating in the Deep Sea Biology Society Conference and presenting an eDNA strategy for surveying the biodiversity of deep-sea corals.

Man Yin Tsang, University of Washington Postdoctoral Researcher. Training at TRIUMF, Canada’s particle accelerator center at the University of British Columbia, to develop a protocol for ESR dating on cold-seep barite, to expand the range of dating techniques used by oceanographers to understand seafloor processes and their impact on seafloor organisms.

Loïc Van Audenhaege, National Oceanography Centre Postdoctoral Researcher. Training on underwater imaging and the use of Artificial Intelligence at the Marine Imaging Workshop (MIW).

2023

Steven Auscavitch, Boston University Postdoctoral Researcher. Training at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center to learn next generation molecular skillsets and create a genetic reference library of deep-sea corals from recent ocean exploration cruises in the central Pacific Ocean.

• Watch the COBRA webinar by Steve and Beatriz about their work supported by the Accelerator Award!