Grace D'Angelo

I am a doctoral researcher studying host-microbe interactions in a defined microbial community. I study the symbiotic relationship between gutless marine worms and their endosymbionts with a focus on the sulfate reducing deltaproteobacterial symbionts. In collaboration with imaging and bioinformatics colleagues, I seek to use mass spectrometry techniques to better understand the expressed metabolism of these symbionts through analyzing their proteomes. 

A glimpse into our study environment:

The image to the left depicts the shallow-water habitat of the gutless marine worms that form symbiotic associations with multiple endosymbionts. We primarily study these organisms in seagrass meadows in the Mediterranean but we find them all over the world in these shallow-water ecosystems.

Professional experience

PhD Candidate -  Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (MPIMM), Bremen, Germany. July 2020 - Present 

Visiting PhD Student -  Kleiner lab at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA. June - December 2021

Education 

Master of Science in Marine Microbiology -  International Max Planck Research School for Marine Microbiology (IMPRS - MPIMM), Bremen, Germany. October 2018 - March 2020

Summer Academy of Spatial Ecotoxicology and Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment -  University Koblenz - Landau, Germany. October 2017 (2 week course)

Honors Bachelor of Science in Microbiology -  Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA. October 2013 - September 2017

Awards & Recognition

Fulbright Scholarship for Study or Research  -  US Student Fulbright Scholar Program

Awarded for one year of study at a German institute. 2018-2019

Middlekauf Scholarship -  Oregon State University

Awarded to a microbiology student engaged in undergraduate research. 2015 & 2016

Thomas R. and Martha S. Aspitarte Scholarship -  Oregon State University

Awarded to a microbiology student interested in environmental microbiology. 2016