About

Kumusta (a greeting in Filipino)? I’m JB, a recent Master of Science graduate from the University of the Philippines, Marine Science Institute. I am interested in understanding biotic and abiotic interactions in ecosystems and how these links shape biological communities. My interest span across molecular to macro-organismal interactions, but I’m now focused on knowing more about marine holobionts (hosts and associated microbes) and the associations among its members. I love playing around with ecological datasets (and trying to teach how to have fun working around them).

My work and research

Currently, I work on marine organisms that are partnered with microbes that use light to produce food (photosymbionts). I delve on the composition of these photosymbionts, the dinoflagellate family Symbiodiniaceae, and how they affect fitness of a holobiont. I also study bacteria to further comprehend how microbiomes contribute to adaptation under fast changing climatic conditions. Beyond these, I work on topics including microalgal cultures (Symbiodiniaceae) and community ecology of environmental microbes.

My background and history

I received my B.Sc. from the University of the Philippines, Baguio. I finished my M.Sc. at the University of the Philippines, Marine Science Institute. I am a former researcher in the Marine Molecular Biology Laboratory and worked on how to make hard corals hardier under warming. If everything goes well, I will be starting my Ph.D. studies in the Conservation ‘Omics Lab.