Current Lab Members
Jodi Young (Principal Investigator)
Future of Ice Assistant Professor in Biological Oceanography at the University of Washington.
I am a biological oceanographer who studies the physiology and biochemistry of marine microalgae. I study CO2 fixation by marine algae, with a particular emphasis on Rubisco. I also research the physiological and biochemical adaptations that enable algae to thrive in extreme polar environments, which influences rates of polar primary production, biogeochemical cycles and food web nutrition. I am part of the UW Future of Ice and the UW Astrobiology Program. I love doing polar fieldwork but I hate the cold!?
Ph. 206-543-0744, Email: youngjn@uw.edu
Hannah Dawson (Postdoctoral Researcher)
I received a Dual PhD in Oceanography and Astrobiology from UW in 2022 and have continued my work as a postdoctoral scholar.
At UW I am working with sea ice algae, which account for a large portion of polar primary productivity. I am interested in how these organisms are able to photosynthesize in their extreme and variable environment where temperature and salinity vary wildly within the ice. In particular, I look at their metabolic activity, elemental composition and nutritive value. This information can also be applied to questions of Astrobiological concern in order to understand where (and how) life may exist elsewhere in the universe.
Before coming to UW, I finished my B.S. in Biology at the University of Virginia in 2013. There I performed research on gene therapies for the brain cancer glioblastoma. After graduating, I worked as a laboratory technician in a veterinary stem cell research facility developing and implementing regenerative medicine treatments for equine and canine patients.
Email: hmdawson@uw.edu
Brooke Weigel (NSF Postdoctoral Scholar)
Brooke is splitting her time between UW and Western Washington University. She is co-advised by Dr Young and Dr Robin Kodner at WWU. Brooke is studying snow algae that color the alpine snow in the Cascadia Mountain Range. We are studying their photosynthesis, physiology and susceptibility to anthropogenic inputs.
blweigel@uw.edu
http://brookeweigel.weebly.com/
Georges (Gio) Kanaan (graduate student co-advised with Prof. Jody Deming)
I am pursuing a dual title PhD in Oceanography and Astrobiology. I graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Cognitive Science. I am co-advised by Dr. Deming and Dr. Young, and joined their labs in 2021.
I’m generally interested in the microbiology of polar environments, and how that might inform our search for life on icy moons.
My first project is funded by the Leo Cup Award discerned by the School of Oceanography. The work enabled by this award will explore the potential for arctic microorganisms to produce emulsifiers. Due to climate change, the Arctic Ocean is becoming more and more navigable, increasing the likelihood of an oil spill in that environment. These emulsifiers would be a low impact solution to cleaning up these oil spills.
I am also investigating at what speeds and under what conditions microbial communities have grown in brine pools that have been stuck in permafrost for tens of thousands of years.
Website: https://gkanaan.com
Kaitlin Harrison (Graduate student, started Sept 2021)
Hi! I'm a first year Biological Oceanography PhD candidate, working with Jodi Young on Rubisco in sea ice algae. I received my BA in Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology from Whitman College. After graduating, I spent two years working with Clemens Cabernard in the UW Biology Department doing RNA-sequencing of fly neuroblasts.
keharr@uw.edu
Dominic Eastburn (Undergraduate volunteer)
Dominic is helping to isolate and identify new sea-ice algae that the Young Lab have sampled from coastal waters in the Arctic and Antarctic.