Maria joined the Carey Lab in August 2024 as a PhD student. She is broadly interested in understanding how climate change and human activities influence freshwater biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem function.

Maria graduated in May 2020 from Rhodes College with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Environmental Science. During her undergraduate studies in Dr. Patrick Kelly’s lab, she assisted in collecting and analyzing samples and data from Mid-South Lakes. This work focused on incorporating nutrient cycling and carbon processing into the characterization of lake productivity. She also contributed to a project that examined changes in nutrient, zooplankton, and phytoplankton community composition within an urban lake, aiming to better understand how these lakes process and transport nutrients downstream.

Now, Maria is excited to explore questions related to phytoplankton community structure and function, as well as carbon and nutrient cycling in freshwater lakes and reservoirs. She plans to use a variety of methods to enhance our understanding of how these systems are changing and will continue to evolve in response to human activity and climate change.