For information about joining the lab group see this page.

Mara Freilich

Mara is an assistant professor in the Division of Applied Mathematics and Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Brown University. She earned her PhD in Physical Oceanography in the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in 2021. She has a BSc in Applied Math from Brown University.

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Postdocs

Shailja Gangrade

Shailja ("Shell-ja") is a biological oceanographer specializing in biophysical interactions and plankton ecology. Her postdoctoral research examines the distribution and composition of phytoplankton and bacterial communities observed within (sub)mesoscale circulations. Shailja received her PhD in 2024 from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Outside of research, Shailja has a passion for teaching & community outreach, cooking new recipes, and handbuilding pottery.

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Arianna Krinos Quinn

Arianna Krinos Quinn is a microbiologist, a computational scientist, an educator, and a postdoctoral researcher at Brown with the Center for Chemical Currencies of a Microbial Planet. She received her PhD from the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography and Applied Ocean Science and Engineering in 2024.

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Graduate students and post-bac researchers

Emily Hu

Emily is a C-CoMP Bridge-to-PhD Fellow in the 2024-2026 cohort. She received her BA in Chemistry from Rutgers University. Her work focuses on the interaction between biogeochemical processes in ocean microbial ecosystems and submesoscale (physical) processes. Outside of research, she enjoys reading short stories, playing mahjong with friends, and spending time with animals.

Alejandra Lopez

Alejandra G. Lopez is a Ph.D. student in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Brown University. Her research centers on the Salton Sea, integrating remote sensing, air and water quality analysis, and community science to examine the region’s evolving environmental challenges. Originally from the Eastern Coachella Valley, she approaches her work with a perspective shaped by both personal connection and a commitment to environmental justice. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, Alejandra worked as an Associate Consultant on Esri’s Natural Resources team, where she supported geospatial solutions for environmental management. She holds an M.S. in Geographic Information Science and Technology from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in International Development and Geography from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Katarina Merk

Katarina is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Brown University. She has a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of California, Davis. Her research currently focuses on how eddies influence carbon flux and microbial communities.

Erin Okey

Erin is a PhD student in the Division of Applied Mathematics at Brown University. Prior to starting at Brown, she completed a BSc in mathematics at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. She is currently studying how ecological dynamics impact the global ocean carbon cycle. In her free time, she enjoys tennis and jiu-jitsu.

Lulabel Ruiz Seitz

Lulabel is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Applied Mathematics at Brown University. Before that, she earned a B.S. Honors in Mathematics at Stanford University. She studies geophysical fluid dynamics using multiscale asymptotics and is particularly interested in combining this with variations of the Eulerian-Lagrangian mapping, to gain new insights into wave-mean flow interactions.

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Leah Hoogstra

Leah is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Applied Mathematics at Brown University. She is working on an emulator for sea level and is co-advised with Baylor Fox-Kemper.

Undergraduate students

Ashely Aguayo

Ashely is an undergraduate student at College of the Desert studying biology. During her time here at Brown, she studied the biology of the Salton Sea, including chlorophyll, nutrients, and phytoplankton. In her free time, she likes reading books, collecting seashells, learning about new things, and going to beaches.

Karsen Chiminelli

Karsen is a rising 4th-year undergraduate student at Brown University, concentrating in Earth, Climate, and Biology. She is currently working on an UTRA project examining the distribution and composition of phytoplankton and bacterial communities. Outside of research, she enjoys hiking, singing in chorus, and visiting new places.

Maysha Chowdhury

Maysha is a rising sophomore at Brown University originally from New York City. She is interested in environmental health and justice, and her current research looks at water and air quality at the Salton Sea and Narragansett Bay. In her free time, she loves thrifting, playing word games, and watching the sunset at Prospect Terrace.

Ijeoma Egwim

Ijeoma is a rising sophomore at University of Maryland Baltimore County. She is an REU student in the Leadership Alliance program studying phytoplankton distributions in the Gulf of Guinea. At her home institution she is majoring in Chemical Engineering with an Environmental focus and is interested in water filtering and microplastics. In her free time she enjoys crocheting and watching movies.

Derrick Han

Derrick is a rising sophomore from Brown University from around the Philadelphia area. He's interested in studying Chemical Engineering, and he's also incredibly passionate about environmental protection. In his free time, he loves spending time outside, trying out new foods, and relaxing!

Erin Kim

Erin is a senior at Brown University concentrating in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. She is working on her honors thesis, using numerical analyses to study how geophysical fluid dynamics and microbial processes in the ocean shape carbon export.

Audrey Noguera

Audrey is an undergraduate student at Brown University studying Environmental Science on the Conservation Science and Natural Systems track. She authored a children's book called Tiny Travelers Find Your Forest that encourages young readers of all backgrounds to explore and protect the nature around them. In her free time, she loves to read, hike, and paint.

Kathy Sun

Kathy is a sophomore at Brown University studying Applied Mathematics and Biology. She is currently integrating salinity factors into a proteome allocation model to quantify phytoplankton physiological responses under environmental stress. When she isn’t in the lab, she can be found tucked away with a good book, lost in a watercolor painting, or brainstorming social impact tech applications.

Claire Xu

Claire is a senior at Brown University studying Earth, Climate, and Biology with the Data Fluency Certificate. She is currently working on her senior thesis examining the effects of industrial contamination and storm events on water quality at Public St and the Providence River. Claire is also passionate about scientific illustration and science communication, having done projects such as the 2024 DEEPS Summer Research Highlights. Outside of the lab, she enjoys drawing, watercolor painting, and exploring National Parks.

Collaborating students

Anna Lo Piccolo

Anna is a PhD candidate in physical oceanography. She studies submesoscale processes in the upper ocean, their role in the ocean biogeochemistry, and how they are represented in global ocean models. She is also interested in polar regions and sea ice-ocean interactions. She likes hiking, reading, and doing creative work.

Alumni

Postdocs

Lilian Dove, NOAA Climate and Global Change Fellow 2023-2025, Next position: Assistant Professor, Georgia Tech

PhD students

Élise Beaudin, Brown '25, Next position: Ocean Networks Canada

Undergraduates

Cassidy Charles, Brown '26, presidential scholars program, senior thesis, Next position: Princeton University PhD student

Wyatt Sieminksi, Brown '26, Voss fellow, senior thesis, Next position: Fluid Numerics

Remy Dufresne, Brown '27 UTRA 2025

Evan Li, Brown '28 UTRA 2025

Anjali Shah, Brown '25 senior thesis student 2024-2025, Next position: Alaska Fellows, MIT-WHOI Joint Program PhD student

Ayushman Choudhury, Brown '25 senior thesis student 2024-2025, Next position: University of Chicago PhD student

Tommy Frank, Brown '25 UTRA 2024

Maggie Gonzalez, Loyola University Chicago '26 Leadership Alliance REU 2024, Next position: Northwestern University PhD student

Researchers

Diego Centeno, research assistant 2023-2024, Next position: UCLA PhD student