Please join us in discussing the role of ancient DNA in coral research. We will provide details about our first round of starter coraDNA grants as part of the coraDNA network #ICRS2026 🪸🧬🌊🌎🧪🦠

The Medina Lab will be at ICRS next week. Below is are schedule of posters and talks. See you all soon! 🪸🦠🌎🧪🌊🧬🌿

Please join us at multiple art and science events at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Auckland July 22 #ICRS2026 🪸🧪🌎🧬🌊🦠

The onset of photosymbiosis on jellyfish development is linked to the assemblage of different microbiomes, holobiont physiology and strobilation patterns. Cassiopea xamachana continues to grow as a developmental symbiosis model system doi.org/10.1093/isme... @loesgenlab.bsky.social

Thank you coral microbe friends for coming to my talk on Symbiodinaceae microbiome pangenomes at ASM in D.C. If you are here, let’s hang out!!

Here is our interactive Week9 summary of Intro to Marine Science (UCLA EEB109) student learning in class and discussion. TAs summarize 120 of these mind maps weekly. Students use them to study for exams. A lot more fun and productive to grade than 120 AI written reports!! 🧪🌊🪸🌐🌎 shorturl.at/NZaRe

It was so great to bump into this juvenile Aplysia californica at Leo Carrillo State Park during the low tide yesterday. It brings Déjà vu of my early Ph.D. days sampling along the coast of California. This is a shell-less herbivorous mollusk of such grace and beauty! 🌊🌎🐙🌿🧪

Meet a very happy batch of our pet juvenile (~2-3 months) upside down jellyfish (Cassiopea xamachana). They need to acquire algal photosymbionts to go from sessile polyp to swimming ephyrae in a process called strobilation 🧪🦠🪸🌊🌿🪼🐙🌎

Milestone day in our new lab at UCLA! Our stellar undergrad Annabelle Conti is celebrating the payoff of a hardworking quarter sequencing 16S microbiomes in our Oxford Nanopore MinIon of local Crustose Coralline Algae and water form the Venice canals 🧪🌎🌊🦠🧬

Two months later I picked up my dry Macrocystis specimen and it is so beautiful! A little greener too! 🌿🌊🌎

Reminding #WomenInStem of all career stages of this conference at UCLA this weekend 🧪

I had a wonderful time this morning engaging with a group of diverse participants from the Los Angeles Art community in the consultation event on the first draft of the Culture Global Stock Take for Climate Action at LA Climate Week. Thank you for the invite!! 🧪🌿🌎🐡

Mara Wilson ( the kid actress in Matilda!) at the @standupforscience.bsky.social rally in LA quoting Carl Sagan 🧪🌎🪸🌊🦠🧬

It felt great to @standupforscience.bsky.social today in LA! I learned more about SB 895, a $23 billion USD state bill to fund California Science & Health Research. Make sure to vote for it in November! shorturl.at/JVIsm 🧪🌎

The lab getting ready for the March for Science this Saturday March 7. See you all there!! 🌎🧪🪸🌿🦑

Learning how to press algae with Tonya Kayne, the UCLA EEB winter quarter class instructor. So much fun!! Thank you!! 🌿🧪🌊

We celebrated Charles Darwin’s 217th birthday in our UCLA EEB 200b Evolution graduate class today! We are reading On the Origin of Species and it is been great fun!! Happy birthday Chuck! 🌿🧪🌎

Just finished guest teaching a 2-week module in evolutionary and ancient DNA genomics for Hong Kong U’s masters program on Integrative Marine Ecology & Conservation. Great students! Great fun! Great location! Thabk you for the invitatiob! www.scifac.hku.hk/prospective/...

It has been great fun to teach about marine genomics for the masters program in marine ecology at Hong Kong U’s marine lab (SWIMS). We have even been able to discuss the importance of equity in marine conservation practices in the region. How refreshing!! 🧪🪸🦑🧬

Today we had Dr. Felipe Zapata come talk to our UCLA Evolution graduate class about how Caldas, a naturalist in the vice kingdom of Nueva Granada in the early 19th century plaid a key role in shaping Humboldt’s theory of plant altitudinal distributions

We developed a 7vortex ecosystem 2cm.es/1hBqX including best tools for a stellar science seminar! First year grad students will be reviewing our weekly ecology and evolution seminar to develop/improve their presentation skills. We will be improving the content for all to use! 🧪

Starting our exciting class with Hugo Araujo training our UCLA EEB graduate students on how to use www.7vortex.com for another learning adventure! We are reading Darwin's Origin of Species and learning about scientific writing. Looking forward learning from the student ecosystem creations!🧪🌎

Avelino Álvarez Órdoñez shares pangenome date showing we are eating foods with lots of antimicrobial resistance genes #Pangenome25 🧪🦠🧬

Howard Ochman provides a historical overview of bacterial pangenome molecular evolution research: De novo genes are super rare! #Pangenome25

#Pangenome25 kicks off! Pilar Francino introduces the topics we will discuss in Valencia, Spain 🧪🧬🦠

A last reminder that the deadline (Dec 1) for abstract submissions is fast approaching for our session on Art as Catalyst in Coral Conservation, at the International Coral Reef Symposium to be held in Auckland, New Zealand July 19-24, 2026🧪🪸🌎🌊🧬🌐🐙🌿🦠🌿

Visited U. of Arizona’s Biosphere 2 and learned about all the research possibilities it provides! We can do long term controlled experiments in multiple biomes, possibly including bringing our beloved Upside-down Jellies to their coral reef and mangrove habitats for manipulation!! 🌎🧪🪼🪸🦠🧬

A reminder that abstract submissions for the Reefs Reimagined session at the International Coral Reef Symposium (July 19-24, 2026) in New Zealand is coming up December 1st, 2025. 🧪🪸🌎🌐🐙🐡🌊

Please join us in this uplifting and inspiring session bringing Art and Science together at the upcoming International Coral Reef Symposium in Auckland, New Zealand, July 19-24 2026. See you all there! Fighting to save reefs through Art!🧪🪸🧬🌎🌊🐙🦠🌿

We had a great thinkathon for the future directions of UCLA’s Center for Tropical Research! @ucla-ctr.bsky.social 🧪🌎🪸🌿