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 interests span across scales, from the molecular to the organismal interactions. I’m now focused on knowing more about marine holobionts (hosts and associated microbes) and their associated microbial communities. 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.