Abby joined the lab as a Ph.D. student in the summer of 2019. Her research interests are broadly focused on the ecology of anthropogenic disturbance in freshwater systems. Throughout her career, she aims to conduct research that will help understand, mitigate, and prevent environmental issues worldwide.

Abby received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Pomona College in 2019. During her time at Pomona, she conducted research projects around the world studying several aspects of global change. One of her favorite projects involved leading a collaborative study with 15 researchers from 12 institutions to analyze the response of algae to nutrient pollution in lakes of the northeastern United States.

At Virginia Tech, Abby is studying how changing levels of oxygen in a reservoir affect freshwater carbon cycling. This research is particularly relevant right now because climate change, land use, and water management are altering oxygen levels in water bodies around the world. Lakes and reservoirs play a large role in the global carbon cycle, so any changes to carbon cycling under different oxygen conditions could have important implications for our predictions of future greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.