Research in our lab focuses on characterizing physiological responses of marine organisms to environmental change. Using integrative approaches we strive to examine impacts and adaptive potential from the nucleotide to organismal level. A core component of this includes investigating the functional relationship of genetics, epigenetics, and protein expression.
Dr Roberts is the Associate Director of the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington.
Major themes of current projects include Environmental Epigenetics and Reproductive Biology.
A primary research focus of the Roberts Lab for this project is to investigate the functional role of DNA methylation in corals with an eye towards both environmental drivers and resulting phenotypes.
Investigating the functional relationship of genetics, epigenetics, and protein expression.
Major themes of current projects include Environmental Epigenetics and Reproductive Biology. A primary research focus of the Roberts Lab for this project is to
investigate the functional role of DNA methylation in corals with an eye towards both environmental drivers and resulting phenotypes.
Roberts Lab Working at E5 Coral
Yaamini Venkataraman
PhD Student
Interested in a role for DNA methylation in transgenerational plasticity.
Shelly Trigg
Post-doc
Research addresses the overarching goal of identifying common responses that could be predictive of species tolerance for environmental change.
Sam White
Research Scientist
Interested in developing reproducible bioinformatic approaches for genomic analyses.
Roberts Lab focuses on characterizing physiological responses of marine organisms to environmental change.
Using integrative approaches we strive to examine impacts and adaptive potential from the nucleotide to organismal level. A core component of this includes investigating the functional relationship of genetics, epigenetics, and transcription. At the molecular level, we are examining the role of DNA methylation in organismal physiology and the potential of the process to impact resilience and evolution. Several of our ongoing projects focus on the native and rare Olympia oyster, considering the potential effects that mixing wild and aquaculture stocks might have on the species’ overall health. We are also tackling the problem of larval mortality that has lately plagued shellfish growers throughout Washington state, considering the role that ocean acidification, emerging diseases, and xenobiotics might play.
