PhD student
Biography
While receiving my B.S. in Microbiology at the University of Tennessee, I worked with Erik on characterizing the ecological niche and interactions between ecotypes of the cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus throughout the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. After developing a passion for marine microbial ecology and phytoplankton, I joined the microbiology graduate program at UT and continued to work in the Zinser lab as a Ph.D. student. I have always been enticed by the complex interactions that occur between microbes throughout the world’s oceans.
I am now investigating the ecological and physiological factors that influence the numerical dominance of Prochlorococcus spp. in the oligotrophic ocean using nutrient-limited competition experiments.
Outside of lab, I am a father, husband, avid outdoor enthusiast, and occasionally a scuba diver.
Research
Marine cyanobacteria of the genus Prochlorococcus are the most abundant photosynthetic microorganisms on the planet and are found ubiquitously throughout all open-ocean environments. While many studies in the past have greatly informed us about the overall abundance and distribution of this cyanobacteria, there has yet to be an experimental demonstration of what allows it to dominate other members of the photosynthetic community. To solve this problem, we coculture Prochlorococcus with other marine photosynthetic and heterotrophic microorganisms to recreate interactions we observe in the ocean and determine aspects of the organism and its environment that facilitate its success. Through my research, we strive to gain a better understanding of the physiological and ecological factors that contribute to the competitive success and dominance of Prochlorococcus in the oligotrophic ocean.
Education
B.S. University of Tennessee – Knoxville (2010-2014)
Ph.D. University of Tennessee – Knoxville (2015-present)
Publications
Wilhelm, S., Bird, J., Bonifer, K., Calfee, B., Chen, T., Coy, S., Gainer, P., Gann, E., Heatherly, H., Lee, J. and Liang, X., 2017. A student’s guide to giant viruses infecting small eukaryotes: From Acanthamoeba to Zooxanthellae. Viruses, 9(3), p.46.
Ma, L., Calfee, B.C., Morris, J.J., Johnson, Z.I. and Zinser, E.R., 2017. Degradation of hydrogen peroxide at the ocean’s surface: the influence of the microbial community on the realized thermal niche of Prochlorococcus. The ISME journal, 12(2), p.473.
Hellweger, F.L., Van Sebille, E., Calfee, B.C., Chandler, J.W., Zinser, E.R., Swan, B.K. and Fredrick, N.D., 2016. The role of ocean currents in the temperature selection of plankton: Insights from an individual-based model. PloS one, 11(12), p.e0167010.