The Team
Phytoplankton EcoPhySi 'omics Lab
Brittany N. Zepernick, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. in Microbiology, University of Tennessee
Honors B.S. in Biology, Bowling Green State University
Dr. Zepernick grew up along the shores of Lake Erie (North American Great Lakes). During her undergraduate studies at Bowling Green State University, the Toledo Water Crisis occurred - with a harmful algal bloom rendering the drinking water toxic to ~500,000 people in the nearby city of Toledo. She has studied algal blooms ever since - with field sites spanning spatial and salinity gradients alike. Her favorite phytoplankton are cyanobacteria & diatoms.
910-962-7051
Brynn Shelley
Undergraduate Student
Directed Independent Study
2026
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Brynn is a North Carolina native receiving her Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She fell in love with phytoplankton after she began working in the UNCW Algal Resources Collection where she is an algal mom to many isolates. In particular, she has isolated many phytoplankton from the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound. Her research seeks to deduce the constraints of nitrogen availability on estuarine dinoflagellates.
This could be you!
Contact us
If you're interested in molecular methods, bioinformatic datasets, and/or phytoplankton - contact Dr. Zepernick