People (Copy) | Genomics at Sea Program (GASP)

Andrew E. Allen

Lead Principal Investigator (Professor)

Dr. Andrew E. Allen is Joint Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego and the J. Craig Venter Institute. Following his PhD from the University of Georgia and postdoctoral work at Princeton and École Normale Supérieure, he joined JCVI in 2007 and Scripps in 2013. His laboratory studies marine micro-eukaryotic phytoplankton, which perform half of global photosynthesis and form the foundation of ocean ecosystems. The team combines physiological, bioinformatic, and genomic approaches to understand how these organisms adapt to stress, regulate nutrient cycles, and interact with bacteria and viruses. This research aims to illuminate the regulatory networks controlling nutrient flux in marine ecosystems. Dr. Allen has led numerous research expeditions to the Southern Ocean where he and his team have documented key molecular mechanisms and physiological adaptations that enable diatoms and other phytoplankton groups to thrive in this unique ecosystem. They have additionally discovered and reported on genetic, physiological, and biochemical mechanisms that control the response of Southern Ocean phytoplankton to micronutrients and shifting ocean temperature and pH. Through the Genomics at Sea Program, his group aims to investigate the genome scale properties that underlie the biodiversity and function of Southern Ocean microbial plankton.

Maria Vernet

Co-Principal Investigator
(Emeritus Research Professor)

mvernet@ucsd.edu

Dr. Maria Vernet is a marine phytoplankton ecologist specializing in polar environments, both Antarctic and Arctic. She joined Scripps in 1986 where she discovered polar phytoplankton in the Barents Sea and the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Since then, she has participated in more that 40 oceanographic research cruises. Her interests span from primary production, to taxonomy, dynamics of plankton communities, planktonic food webs and pelagic-benthic coupling. Her approach has been primarily experimental, based on laboratory and field studies. She has collaborated with modelers to understand how marine food webs respond to change in phytoplankton composition and cell size, the importance of warm ocean currents to sustain productivity in the polar regions, and the latitudinal distribution of Greenland productivity. Over the past 25 years, Dr. Vernet's research has focused on ice-phytoplankton interactions at the ocean boundaries, studying plankton response after Antarctic ice-shelf breakup, multi-year ice in the Weddell Sea, the effect of drifting icebergs on plankton dynamics and more recently the influence of glacier meltwater to coastal ecosystems in Antarctic and Greenland fjords. Dr. Vernet collaborates with the Antarctic Peninsula tourist ship industry (IAATO) to sample phytoplankton along Peninsula fjords, successfully obtaining valuable scientific data while engaging non-scientists in research. Dr. Vernet is the lead Principal Investigator for FjordPhyto project. Through the Genomics at Sea Program, her group aims to investigate the interaction between meltwater delivery, nutrient enrichment and phytoplankton distribution that supports the biodiversity and function of Southern Ocean phytoplankton.

Christian Johnson

Project Lead & Field Scientist (PhD Student)

cjj015@ucsd.edu

Christian Johnson is a second-year marine biology Ph.D. student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), co-advised by Dr. Andrew Allen and Dr. Maria Vernet. He began developing the Genomics at Sea Program (GASP) with his advisors in the spring of 2023 and now serves as the foundation for his Ph.D. research.

At SIO, Christian conducts research at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and serves as a visiting scientist aboard Viking expedition ships during the austral summer. His current research interests focus on the mechanisms and environmental factors that influence the diversity and metabolism of microbial plankton in the Southern Ocean. He is particularly interested in how nutrient inputs from penguin colonies around the Western Antarctic Peninsula affect phytoplankton community structure, using GASP to investigate these ecological interactions.

Christian’s introduction to polar research began through a fellowship with Dr. Allison Cusick and the FjordPhyto project, where he first explored polar ecosystems and developed a passion for Antarctic science.

Ariel Rabines

Project Manager (Postdoctoral Researcher)

arabines@ucsd.edu

Dr. Ariel Rabines is a postdoctoral scholar in the Integrative Oceanography Division at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Marine Biology from the University of California San Diego and a B.S. in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology from the University of California Santa Cruz.

His research focuses on microbial community dynamics, real-time environmental monitoring using nanopore sequencing, and ecological genomics. He has extensive experience in molecular methods, bioinformatics, and field-based oceanographic research. Dr. Rabines has collaborated on numerous publications exploring microbial interactions in coastal and open ocean systems and has contributed to projects aimed at improving algal cultivation for sustainable biofuel production. Beyond research, he is passionate about outreach and mentorship, engaging with students and the public to promote marine science.

Lisa Zeigler

Senior Investigator & Field Scientist

lzeigler@ucsd.edu

Dr. Lisa Zeigler is a microbial and viral ecologist using laboratory, field-based, and computational approaches to investigate food web dynamics and virus-host interactions. She received her Ph.D. from University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD-SIO) in 2011.

Her research centers on microbial (algal and bacterial) and viral communities within highly productive marine ecosystems. These ecosystems range from surface waters driven by photosynthesis to deep-sea hydrothermal regions fueled by chemosynthesis. Her laboratory combines large environmental datasets with laboratory-based studies of emerging model systems from these regions to measure biodiversity, examine interactions within microbial food webs, and explore how changes in physical-chemical environments influence ocean biota. With expertise in global genomic analyses of marine microbes and viruses, as well as detailed investigations at the single-cell and single-virus level, her work often pushes technological boundaries. This requires the development of innovative methods for isolating single cells and viruses in both wild and laboratory settings. Recently, she and her team have expanded their fieldwork to include real-time sequencing and analysis using Oxford Nanopore technology, which the GASP team has successfully adapted for the Antarctica-based program.

Tobias Chavero

Project Collaborator - Microscopy Specialist (Ph.D. Student)

Tobias Chavero is a first-year Ph.D. student at the National University of La Plata, Argentina, under the supervision of Dr. Gaston Almandoz and Dr. Maria Vernet.
He began his work with an internship at the Museum of La Plata under the guidance of Dr. Martina Mascioni, where he learned about citizen science, phytoplankton diversity, and microscopy-based sample analysis through the FjordPhyto project.
His work with GASP will include performing microscopy analyses, including species identification and the quantification of biomass and abundance from surface water phytoplankton samples.
His research interests focus on the dynamics of diatom blooms and their sedimentation to the seafloor, particularly in the coastal areas of the Antarctic Peninsula. To learn more about Tobias, visit his profile on ResearchGate.

Kaitlyn Broersma

Marine Biologist (Master’s Student)

Kaitlyn Broersma is a Masters student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) studying marine biology. Her advisor is Dr. Andrew Allen, and she is co-advised by Dr Douglas Bartlett and Dr. Eric Allen. She began as an undergraduate student in the Allen lab in Spring of 2024 and decided to continue her research as a graduate student in the lab in March of 2025.

At SIO, Kaitlyn conducts research at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and also serves as a visiting scientist aboard viking expeditions ships in the austral summer. She has also served as a field researcher on other research projects - most notably CalCOFI and Plumes and Blooms, analyzing phytoplankton ecophysiology in the California current. Her current focus in the lab is studying how nutrient starvation affects the genomic expression of the diatom species Thalassiosira pseudonana (Tp). She is particularly interested in how the addition of a bacterial species can affect how diatoms will respond to starvation. While her current focus is on marine microorganisms, she is also interested in pinniped ecophysiology.

Allison Cusick

Project and Field Scientist (Post-doctoral Researcher)

all178@ucsd.edu

Dr. Allison Cusick completed her degree in the Biological Oceanography PhD program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography under the supervision of Dr. Vernet analyzing samples collected by the citizen science project FjordPhyto.

Since 2017 (except during the pandemic 2020-2021) she has traveled to the Antarctic Peninsula on various tour ships as Lecturer & Field Scientist for FjordPhyto, spending more than 300 days at sea. Her work in FjordPhyto has been published in Oceanography Magazine, and in ECO Magazine; she was also featured as a Polar Hero and in Condé Nast Traveler. Allison had a brush with fame starring in Jeff Goldblum’s show ‘The World According to Jeff Goldblum’ sharing the science of tiny marine organisms and the world of phytoplankton in the “Tiny Things” episode streaming on Disney+ Plus. For her work progressing the efforts of FjordPhyto, Allison was recognized by the Inaugural UCSD Chancellors Student Innovation Award.

Allison is an advocate for connecting people to the wonders of science through her social media platform Woman Scientist to help people pursue careers in adventurous field science. To learn more about Allison’s career visit her LinkedIn.

Martina Mascioni

Project and Field Scientist (Post-doctoral Researcher)

Dr. Martina Mascioni completed her degree in the Phycology PhD program at the National University of La Plata, Argentina, under the supervision of Dr. Gaston Almandoz and Dr. Maria Vernet analyzing the first samples collected by the citizen science project FjordPhyto in 2016-2017. Her work focused on the ecology and diversity of the phytoplankton community from the coastal areas of the western Antarctic Peninsula. Since then, she has focused on expanding the biodiversity in the western Antarctic Peninsula, with an emphasis on new cryptophyte and dinoflagellate species. With her expertise in Antarctic phytoplankton ecology and diatom taxonomy Dr. Mascioni is a teaching assistant in a course in "Systematic Botany I" (Botánica Sistemática I) a subject taken by third-year biology students learning about protist and fungi biology. As a native Spanish speaking scientist, she has been instrumental in providing bi-lingual information in the FjordPhyto project. To learn more about Martina’s Career visit her profile on ResearchGate, or see FjordPhyto en Español.

Faith Hovey

Field Scientist - Astrobiologist

Her research interests include marine microbial ecology in extreme environments, biosignaturesary research in marine microbiology, genomics, oceanography, and astrobiology. During her time in community college, before studying at UCSD, she volunteered as a student lead for the Pacific Plankton Program based in Santa Cruz, CA. She currently volunteers with the A.E. Allen Lab at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Since transferring to UC San Diego, she has executed a variety of biological research projects, including a spatial and temporal analysis of phytoplankton communities in Andvord Bay, Antarctica, using data collected from the FjordPhyto project, as well as a phylogenetic analysis of biofilm-forming bacteria belonging to the genus Flavobacterium. As a GASP Field Scientist, she contributes to Antarctic seawater collection, CTD and fluorometer deployment, eDNA extraction, PCR, and onboard sequencing. Her research interests include marine microbial ecology in extreme environments, biosignatures for life detection in and beyond our Solar System, and microbial space biology.

Jack Buckingham

Viking Polaris Chief Scientist - Marine Biologist

Dr. Jack Buckingham is a Chief Scientist onboard Viking Polaris. With a PhD in polar ecology from the University of Hull, England, his past work with the British Antarctic Survey focused mainly on assessing the impact and distribution of microplastic pollution on marine sub-Antarctic food webs.

As Chief Scientist he is involved in developing and conducting multiple research projects simultaneously, from Antarctic benthic habitat assessments to quantitative microplastic analysis to overseeing the routine collection of meteorological data. In terms of GASP, whilst onboard Dr. Buckingham is in charge of ensuring the facilitation of sample collections along with providing onboard logistical assistance for the Scripps Team.

Meghan Goggins

Viking Polaris Chief Scientist - Marine Biologist

Meghan Goggins is a polar marine biologist, and the Chief Scientist of Viking Polaris. She has a strong background in applied marine science, focussed on the Antarctic ecosystem for the last seven years. She currently leads ship based scientific operations to ensure valuable data is gathered accurately and can be widely accessible for both partner institutions and collaborators, in addition to guests who travel onboard our ship. Her main priority is ensuring high quality research is aligned with engaging educational material to support ocean advocacy and increased understanding of our world via long term monitoring.

Jessie Brice

Viking Polaris Field Scientist - Marine Biologist

Jessie Brice completed her Master’s degree in Marine Biology at the University of Southampton based at the National Oceanography Centre; with an academic background in unravelling novel ecological interactions in seagrass meadows and utilizing environmental DNA to discover cryptic species. Aboard the expedition vessel Viking Polaris, from Nova Scotia to Antarctica, she facilitates data collection to explore the structure and function of the diverse ecosystems we explore. Supporting multidisciplinary visiting researchers, such as GASP, is an exciting opportunity to contribute to pioneering polar investigations.

Jolien Claes

Viking Polaris Field Scientist - Benthic Ecologist

Jolien holds a Master of Science in Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management, awarded jointly by the Belgian universities of Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent. She has been working as a Field Scientist for the Science Program of Viking Cruises since 2023. In this role, she is responsible for collecting and processing scientific samples aboard Viking’s two expedition vessels, including samples for GASP and the FjordPhyto project.

Zoltán Füssy

Computational Biologist (Staff Research Associate)

zoltan.fussy@gmail.com

Dr. Zoltán Füssy is bio informaticist in the Allen Lab. He is interested in how genomic adaptations in microbial plankton enable adaptation to specific environments. With the use of comparative genomics, he examines biochemical adaptations and biotic interactions, in the context of their evolutionary history. He has recently conducted an extensive comparative genomics study of the dominant polar phytoplankton lineage Phaeocystis. His evolutionary reconstruction supports the idea that Arctic and Antarctic species of Phaeocystis share a more recent common ancestor to one another than either does to species found in subtropical or tropical waters. Dr. Füssy supports the GASP program through assembly and maintenance of key databases that are needed for analyses of GASP data. He additionally assists with and performs various computes that support GASP data analyses.

Freya Hammar

Website Developer & Graphic Designer (PhD Student)

fhammar@ucsd.edu

Freya Hammar is a Ph.D. student in Dr. Andrew Allen's lab at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). With a background in molecular biology, she specializes in digital communication and accessibility, ensuring that complex scientific projects are presented in a clear, engaging manner. She began working part-time as a scientific illustrator in 2022, and took over development of the GASP website in 2024.

Website

Nikolas Yanek-Chrones

Data Specialist

nyanekch@ucsd.edu

Nikolas is a small business owner. He graduated from UC San Diego in 2024 with a B.S. in Cognitive Science, specializing in machine learning and neural computation. In 2023 He joined the Fjord Phyto Project as a volunteer, and began his journey as a bioinformatician under the mentorship of Dr. Allison Cusick and Christian Johnson.

While volunteering for Fjord Phyto, he identified areas of friction in the research process, particularly regarding colocation of data points across modality, time, and space. His work with GASP has been focused on developing a desktop application (Poleshift) that preemptively addresses those areas of concern in addition to providing immediate, actionable analysis to researchers in the field. Through close collaboration with scientists in the field, particularly Christian Johnson and Dr. Emma George, a beta version has been completed for use in live contexts.

ICARAI.IO

PAST MEMBERS

Emma George
Field Scientist

eegeorge@ucsd.edu

Dr. Emma George is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography working on phytoplankton and microbial food webs. She focuses on bacterial interactions with phytoplankton, mainly diatoms. Her career as an environmental microbiologist has taken her all over the world to study various marine environments including the open ocean, coral reefs and now, polar ecosystems.

Jack McElhinney
Octantis Field Scientist - Marine Biologist

Dr. Jack McElhinney is a marine biologist studying how warming oceans and chronic oxygen stress shape fish physiology and size. His PhD research at the University of Western Australia focuses on the respiratory physiology of fish in relation to warming oceans, integrating global physiological datasets with BRUVS imagery and historical fishing records. Jack has extensive field experience, with work spanning Antarctica, South Georgia, the Patagonian fjords, the Canadian Arctic, and Australian waters. His research uses physiology-based traits to understand climate vulnerability and long-term changes in marine fish communities.

Bryce Ellman
Field Scientist

baellman@ucsd.edu

Bryce Ellman is a marine biologist with extensive experience in oceanographic fieldwork, genomic analysis, and environmental monitoring. She received her B.S. in Marine Biology from UC San Diego and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where she now works as staff researcher, leading innovative initiatives aboard NOAA and UNOLS vessels. Her expertise spans CTD operations, plankton and microbial sampling, metabarcoding library preparation, and real-time imaging flow cytometry. Passionate about interdisciplinary research collaboration, she strives to advance our understanding of marine ecosystems, while fostering inclusivity and diversity in science. Outside of work, Bryce actively engages with the community as a naturalist volunteer at the San Diego Natural History Museum and loves to spend her free time at the beach or practicing aerial silks.

Andrew E. Allen

Lead Principal Investigator (Professor)

Maria Vernet

Co-Principal Investigator(Emeritus Research Professor)

Christian Johnson

Project Lead & Field Scientist (PhD Student)

Ariel Rabines

Project Manager (Postdoctoral Researcher)

Lisa Zeigler

Senior Investigator & Field Scientist

Tobias Chavero

Project Collaborator - Microscopy Specialist (Ph.D. Student)

Kaitlyn Broersma

Marine Biologist (Master’s Student)

Allison Cusick

Project and Field Scientist (Post-doctoral Researcher)

Martina Mascioni

Project and Field Scientist (Post-doctoral Researcher)

Faith Hovey

Field Scientist - Astrobiologist

Jack Buckingham

Viking Polaris Chief Scientist - Marine Biologist

Meghan Goggins

Viking Polaris Chief Scientist - Marine Biologist

Jessie Brice

Viking Polaris Field Scientist - Marine Biologist

Jolien Claes

Viking Polaris Field Scientist - Benthic Ecologist

Zoltán Füssy

Computational Biologist (Staff Research Associate)

Freya Hammar

Website Developer & Graphic Designer (PhD Student)

Nikolas Yanek-Chrones

Data Specialist

PAST MEMBERS

Emma GeorgeField Scientist

Jack McElhinneyOctantis Field Scientist - Marine Biologist

Bryce EllmanField Scientist

Co-Principal Investigator
(Emeritus Research Professor)

Emma George
Field Scientist

Jack McElhinney
Octantis Field Scientist - Marine Biologist

Bryce Ellman
Field Scientist