People

I grew up near the Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario in upstate New York. I didn't know any scientists growing up, but I fell in love with ecology, evolution, and microbiology as an undergrad. I did my Ph.D. at MIT studying genome evolution in Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthetic organism on Earth. I then did a postdoc at Caltech where I learned a lot about microbiology and genetics. My current research interests include microbial adaptation to climate change and virus-host coevolution.

My research has focused on examining the intricacies of diversity, genomics, and community dynamics to better understand the impact of disturbances on ecosystem and evolutionary processes. My dissertation explored the physiology, genomic composition, and evolutionary histories that influence microbial distribution in coastal and freshwater environments. As a Simons Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, I am combining cultivation-based experiments with a mutagenesis approach to investigate the importance of fine-scale diversity for local adaptation and population stability in a globally distributed cyanobacterium.

Outside of the lab, I enjoy cooking, hiking, backpacking, scuba diving, and Crossfit.

My research focuses on determining how resource competition, viral pressures, and microbial interactions influence the ecology of aquatic ecosystems. Through these lenses I explore the factors controlling the population dynamics of marine picocyanobacteria, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus.

My undergrad major was Geo-Biology and since then I have been curious about the interaction between biology and its surroundings. More precisely I want to conduct research that brings us closer to understanding how microbes shape and are shaped by their environment. This had led me to conducting research on the Great Lakes microbial community and its potential response to climate change.

I am happy to answer questions about STEM or to talk about my experience as a first generation and woman in STEM.

I like organizing outreach events for younger students and participating in student organizations. I also spend time playing games like Among Us and Wordle!

Raechel joined the lab in Fall 2022. She completed her MS at DePaul University where she studied fungal diversity and dispersal.

Sara earned her Ph.D. in aquatic microbial ecology at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. She joined the Coleman lab as a postdoc and played a critical role in building our Great Lakes time series. Sara's current work focuses on the ecological genomics of picocyanobacteria in the Great Lakes.

The goal of my work in the Coleman Lab is to develop visuals that aid research communication for audiences both within and beyond the scientific community. Recognizing the importance of effective science communication after earning my BA in biology at Bowdoin College, I am interested in how illustration, graphics, and other visual forms can help make science more understandable and accessible. I am thrilled to be part of the lab and have the opportunity to work at the intersection of science, visual arts, and design.

Outside of work, my interests include playing music, watching Lake Michigan in the winter, and hot coffee on hot days.

I am a third-year environmental science & biology major at UChicago. I am interested in environmental microbiology. In the lab, I am looking at how salinity affects the growth of Synechococcus.

I was drawn to microbiology because I like the idea that something so small can have such a large impact. I wrote a senior thesis in the Coleman Lab quantifying the abundance and diversity of cyanobacteria in Lake Superior using flow cytometry. Now I am a full time research intern supported by NSF GEO-REPS.

I enjoy embroidering in my free time!

I'm an undergraduate student studying biology and environmental science and specializing in ecology and evolution. I'm interested in aquatic microbial ecology, especially as it relates to climate change. I am pursuing a senior thesis with Dr. Emil Ruff at MBL.