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Ph.D., Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, USA

B.S., Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, USA

I'm primarily interested in how symbiotic organelles like mitochondria originate and become integrated into their hosts. I approach this question using protists and insect-bacterial partnerships as models. In the ECBSU, I'm studying gene-rich mitochondria of diverse protists to reconstruct early steps in the evolution of the mitochondrion. I’m also exploring the evolution of organelle-like symbionts and mitochondria of insects such as scales and adelgids. I aim to understand how symbioses become permanent and how they shape cellular and genomic complexity over evolutionary time.

My Ph.D. work aimed to understand the ecological and evolutionary forces that can destabilize long-term symbiotic relationships. I studied obligate endosymbionts of adelgids, an insect group with a highly dynamic history of symbiont gains and losses compared to other insects. I explored how natural fluctuations in host dietary quality may have influenced symbiont genome evolution, and how they currently shape host-symbiont gene expression and cell biology.

Outside the lab, I enjoy playing guitar, exploring Okinawa’s landscapes and culture, and spending time near or in the ocean. I also live with a very opinionated cat who accompanied me on the move to Japan.

BSc. in Biology, Dept. of Science, Kyushu University, Japan

My interest in coral evolution brought me back to Okinawa to pursue my PhD. During my bachelor’s, I studied the macrofaunal communities living among coral branches at the Amakusa Marine Biological Laboratory. For my rotation project, I’m focusing on biomineralization in blue corals, comparing them with stony corals at the genomic level. I’m excited to learn as much as I can in Husnik Unit. Outside of research, I enjoy playing soft tennis with a local team, as well as snorkeling and diving.

PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Dalhousie University, Canada
MSc in Genetics from the University of British Columbia, Canada
BSc in Genetics from the University of York, U.K.

I am interested in the early evolution of eukaryotes, and in mitochondrial origins, evolution, and diversity. Animals, fungi and plants make up only a small fraction of eukaryotic lineages, and so in order to study these questions across eukaryotic diversity, my research focuses on protists - diverse, mainly microbial organisms that collectively make up the majority of eukaryotes.

For my PhD I studied modified mitochondria in protists inhabiting low-oxygen environments at Dalhousie University (Canada), and for my earlier postdoctoral research I studied protists closely related to animals with a view to understanding animal origins at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (Barcelona, Spain). At the ECBSU I hope to study the variety of interactions between mitochondria and more recently established endosymbionts.

I love swimming and snorkeling, exploring new hiking trails, terrible puns, and doodling (including terrible visual puns). Any cat pictures shared with Yi-Kai Fang should be cc’d to me.

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BSc. in Veterinary Medicine, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine
MSc. in Molecular Biology, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine

I am interested in the evolution of plastids. Plastid is an ancient organelle that originated thanks to the endosymbiosis with photosynthetic cyanobacteria. Some modern organisms also happen to have similar symbioses. In my project, I want to use a protist that bears a photosynthetic cyanobacterial symbiont and compare it to a heterotrophic relative from the same lineage. My goal is to expose differences in gene expression that allow this symbiosis to arise and thrive. Before coming to OIST, I worked as an Imaging Bioinformatician at Wellcome Sanger Institute and HuBMAP Consortium in the UK where I focused on the development of processing pipelines for imaging spatial omics data such as CODEX, CellDive, MIBI, and IMS. In my free time, I enjoy getting lost in new places, hiking, computer graphics, and a bit of math.

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BSc. and MSc. in Biology, Voronezh State University, Russia

My path in biology began with research in biophysics. As an undergraduate student, I studied the patterns of structural organization of glycosidases: internal cavities, tunnels, and pores in the composition of monomers and dimers of exo- and endoinulinases. As a master's candidate, I was inspired by research in the field of protistology, and my master's thesis was devoted to the study of morphology, ecology, and molecular phylogeny of telonemids. I am interested in reconstructing the phylogenetic tree and the early evolution of eukaryotes through genomic and morphological studies of protists, as well as in studying their biodiversity and ecology. Apart from my research, I am passionate about learning to play musical instruments, hiking, painting watercolors, and learning Spanish and Arabic.

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BSc. in Biology, Hokkaido University, Japan

I have been working on different species of benthic dinoflagellates (Coolia, Ostreopsis, and Amphidinium spp.) during my undergraduate course. I have also worked for five months as a research intern in the Husnik Unit and started exploring the role of bacterial symbionts in diverse aspects of dinoflagellate biology (e.g. toxin production or photosynthesis). During my rotation, I plan to explore symbiotic interactions between marine dinoflagellates from Okinawa and their endosymbionts. When I am not working, I am usually cooking or hiking in the mountains.

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BSc. in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, UNAM, Mexico

I am interestred in the underlaying paterns that hide within the sea of information that recent techniques have allowed access to. I did my bachelor thesis project at CICESE in Mexico where I was introduced to metabolomics. I analyzed data from metabolites of a wide range of microorganisms. During my PhD in the Husnik Unit, my aim is to perform metabolomics analyses that will help to elucidate diverse host-symbiont interactions. Outside of work I enjoy sports (mainly those that involve a raquet) and videogames.

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BSc. in Biology, Moscow State University, Russia

I am broadly interested in marine invertebrates and their relationships with symbionts. During my rotation, I will compare Symbiodiniaceae distribution across different hosts (corals, foraminifera, possibly clams) and environments (seawater and sediment). Besides that, I am extremely curious to know what kinds of animals you can find in different environments around Okinawa, so I’ll be also helping with Arno’s project exploring marine and mangrove meiofauna. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, snorkeling, and diving (still haven’t done it much in Okinawa!), also trying to learn photography and social dancing (such as salsa and west coast swing).

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I joined ECBSU in September 2025, and I am truly honored to be part of this lab. I am committed to contributing to the smooth progress of everyone’s research by drawing on the knowledge and experience! Outside of work, I love traveling and trying local food or watching movies.