Dr. Sarah Smith (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor of Biological Oceanography
Ph.D., Marine Biology Scripps Institution of Oceanography, CA (2014)
M.S., Marine Science Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, CA (2009)
B.S. Biology Santa Clara University, Santa Clara CA (2003)
Email: sarah.r.smith@sjsu.edu
Dominic Kyle Ypil (he/him/his)
SJSU M.S. Graduate Student - Joined Fall 2023
Dominic Kyle, a 2020 graduate of the University of California Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Biological Sciences, has over two years of industry experience in bioremediation and biogeochemistry. He discovered his passion for biological oceanography through this experience, which led him to join Dr. Sarah Smith's lab. Dominic's research interests focus on studying the effects of anthropogenic pressures on marine environments, particularly in relation to phytoplankton diversity, eDNA, and biogeochemistry. He looks forward to contributing novel ideas to the field of oceanography through his work in the lab.
Elise Tysdal (she/her/hers)
SJSU M.S. Graduate Student - Joined Fall 2024
Elise obtained a B.S. in Zoology with a minor in Marine Biology from Oregon State University in 2023. Her undergraduate research focused on the behavioral mechanisms of space competition in intertidal sea anemones, but she became fascinated by the cellular and molecular underpinnings of the interactions over their ecological outcomes, revealing an interest in pursuing molecular biology. In graduate school, Elise studies the taxonomy and nitrogen biology of the cosmopolitan diatom genus Rhizosolenia, and her research interests include evolution, genetics, cell biology, microbial ecology, and symbiosis.
Lab Alumni
Hannah McGrath (she/her/hers)
SJSU M.S. Graduate Student - (Fall 2022 - Summer 2025)
Hannah graduated with a BA in environmental science with a minor in managerial economics from Colby College in Waterville, ME in 2022. Junior year she had the opportunity to learn from and work alongside Dr. Peter Countway at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences which sparked her passion for phytoplankton ecology, specifically harmful algae blooms (HABs). She continued her passion for HABs during the summer of 2021 in Florida working at the Red Tide Institute under Dr. Cindy Heil. Hannah’s main research interests include marine phytoplankton composition, harmful algal bloom abundance, duration, timing and detection, and science communication.
Hannah is primarily advised by Holly Bowers in the Environmental Biotechnology lab at MLML
Hannah May (she/her/hers)
CSUMB REU 2023 Undergraduate Intern
Hannah joined the lab through the Monterey Bay REU Program in Summer 2023 when she was an undergraduate student at Clemson University in Clemson, SC working towards her BS in Biological Sciences with a minor in genetics. She worked on a project using molecular biomarkers in diatoms to indicate nitrogen status in the field. She was thrilled to work in the lab over summer and gained experience with designing primers, running PCR and qPCR, and various other techniques.