Howdy, I'm Madeline!

PhD Candidate at Northeastern University / Lotterhos Lab
I'm currently a PhD candidate in Marine and Environmental Science at Northeastern University in the Lotterhos Lab. I'm looking for post-doc opportunities to begin January 2027! 

​I am a marine molecular ecologist interested in how interested in how spatial and environmental gradients structure population-level connectivity and adaptation across the seascape. My past work has focused on conservation genetics of fish and invertebrates. Much of my research is applicable to aquaculture, restoration, and sustainable fishing.  

For my PhD, I studied the eastern oyster, an economically valuable yet declining species. My work investigated range-wide genomic population structure, structural variants across the genome, and divergent adaptation to abiotic and biotic environmental conditions between ancestral groups.

In my undergraduate work, I surveyed dynamics of top-predator seafood mislabeling in Massachusetts and southern New England fish markets. 

Beyond molecular ecology, ​I am increasingly interested in the nexus of science & policy, most particularly the topic of biological sex.
My work has been generously funded and supported by the American Museum of Natural History, National Shellfisheries Association, National Association of Marine Laboratories, American Society of Naturalists, Society for the Study of Evolution, Northeastern University Marine Science Center, and the National Science Foundation.​

Education

PhD Candidate in Marine and Environmental Science (Fall 2021 - current)
Northeastern University Marine Science Center
Advisor: Dr. Katie Lotterhos

B.A. Biology magna cum laude, Bard College at Simon's Rock (2020)
Senior Thesis, Awarded Highest Honors: Shark and swordfish substitutions in New England markets
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Thomas Coote