Natalie Yingling is a Master’s student under the guidance of Dr. Nick Welschmeyer in the Biological Oceanography lab. She started at MLML in Fall 2015 after earning her B.S. degree in Marine Science with a concentration in biological oceanography from North Carolina State University in Spring 2015. During her time at MLML she has participated in various research cruises, worked as a research assistant for Dr. Welschmeyer as part of the ballast water testing team that works in conjunction with Cal Maritime, was vice president of MLML in 2016 and has participated every year in MLML’s annual open house. In Fall 2018 she will be starting a Ph.D. program at Florida State University in the department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science. Her thesis focuses on implementing measurements of adenosine triphosphate as a proxy of microbial biomass in stressed and dying cells.