A. Randall Hughes

professor, marine and environmental sciences

associate dean for Equity, college of science

PhD. University of California, Davis, Ecology, 2006

BA. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1997

rhughes [at] northeastern.edu

Interested in joining the Hughes Lab?

Postdoctoral Researchers

Dr. Kylea Garces, Future faculty Postdoctoral research fellow

Kylea’s website

PhD University of Louisville

BS University of Oregon

Kylea Garces is a future-faculty postdoctoral fellow co-advised by Dr. Jen Bowen. Kylea is a community ecologist and excited by all things fungi! Broadly, her research focuses on community assembly of fungal endophytes, with a particular focus in coastal grasses. Kylea is interested in the ways various stressors associated with global change induce shifts within microbial communities which have cascading effects on the plant host, community, and ecosystem. Within the lab, she has built a foundational culture collection of leaf and root fungal endophytes living within marsh grass, Spartina alterniflora, from Plum Island LTER. Additionally, she is committed to increasing science literacy and inclusivity in STEM, with her personal philosophy being education as a form of empowerment. She continues to pursue education research as an action towards progressing the academic experience for undergraduate students, particularly those from minoritized backgrounds.

Graduate Students

Sarit Truskey, phd student

Sarit joined the Hughes Lab in Fall 2018 after two years as a research assistant at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where she studied the species boundaries and genetic diversity of open ocean zooplankton. Sarit is excited to bring her research closer to shore with the Hughes Lab. She is broadly interested in understanding patterns and processes underlying eco-evolutionary feedbacks in coastal systems and how feedback-mediated changes scale from within populations to communities and ecosystems. Sarit is particularly interested in coastal foundation species, including oysters, seagrasses, and mangroves, and in opportunities to leverage eco-evo feedbacks and genetic information in the design and implementation of coastal restoration plans.

Eric Schneider, phd student

Eric joined the Hughes Lab in the Fall of 2019 after several years of working collaboratively with Drs. Randall Hughes and Jonathan Grabowski on oyster-related research in Rhode Island (RI). In the Hughes lab, Eric is broadly interested in using basic and applied community ecology research to improve oyster restoration practices. He’s particularly interested the use of field experiments to better understand how factors influence survival, recruitment, community structure, and sustainability of oyster reefs in RI waters. Eric’s also particularly interested using approaches that consider both social and ecological aspects to develop restoration plans for shellfish in RI. Eric is co-advised by Drs. Hughes and Grabowski and is also a Principal Marine Biologist with the RI Dept. of Environmental Management’s Division of Marine Fisheries (RIDMF) in Jamestown, RI.

katie Sperry, phd student

sperry.k[at]northeastern.edu

Katie’s website

Katie joined the Hughes lab in the fall of 2019. She studies intraspecific variation in salt marshes from many angles, including genetic, community ecology, restoration ecology, and social-ecological systems lenses. She has a particular interest in translating ecological patterns into actionable guidance, and in communicating science to broad audiences. She holds a BA in Biology from Carleton College, from which she graduated in 2017

Kristen Rabbitt, PhD student

Kristen joined the Hughes Lab in the Fall of 2021 after completing her bachelors in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Rice University where she researched the coral microbial communities and the role of coral predators in coral microbe dispersal. In the Hughes lab, she is interested in understanding how environmental conditions affect intraspecific diversity and microbial interactions in salt marsh plants. Kristen’s particularly interested in how host and microbial genetic diversity can be attributed to differences in plant function under stress. She’s also interested in applying her work to inform salt marsh restoration and conservation efforts.

kalaina Thorne, phd student

Growing up along the blue waters of the Caribbean Ocean, Kalaina has always been fascinated with marine ecosystems, but never knew she could make a career studying them. Her research interests are in understanding environmental conservation from a social-ecological perspective, particularly in the context of climate change. Previously, she had a range of experiences from the deciduous forests of New England to the coral reefs of Belize. Before joining the Hughes lab, Kalaina completed a MS in Environmental Science & Policy at Northeastern and worked as a sustainability science intern at The Nature Conservancy. These opportunities also stoked her passion for scientific communication and environmental justice, areas which she hopes to continue focusing on in her career. In doing so, she wants to approach sustainability science from a holistic perspective.

Ellie Handler, PhD student

Ellie joined the Hughes lab in 2023 after working as a research assistant at the University Center in Svalbard where she studied microbes in the Arctic. She is broadly interested in the roles of microbe-host relationships in coastal ecosystems, especially the ways these interactions can affect biogeochemical cycling. Ellie is also fascinated by ecological restoration and the ways that we, as people, interact with and shape the world around us. She is interested in studying the potential role of microbes in marsh restoration practices. Ellie is co-advised with Dr. Jen Bowen. She holds a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Yale University and an M.S. in Arctic and Marine Ecology from the University of Tromsø.

Eric Monroe, PhD student

Eric joined the lab in the fall of 2023 through Northeastern’s Industry PhD program. Through this program, Eric pursues his PhD in the Hughes’ lab while continuing to work at IndigoAg, a company in Boston that is a leader in sustainable agricultural solutions through the use of endophytic biological products. His research looks to integrate the findings from marine systems with those of terrestrial agriculture systems to answer questions about how endophytes interact with their plant hosts, and what factors should be considered when investigating the potential role endophyte inocula can have in both agriculture and restoration. Eric loves evening walks in the woods with his pup, fresh coffee in the morning, skiing, watching boston sports, brewing kombucha, and most of all geeking out about whatever science topic anyone wants to spend way too much time discussing.

Hughes lab alumni

dr. jahson B. Alemu I, Assistant Research Professor, University of South Alabama

PhD. University of the West Indies

Jahson is a broadly trained marine biologist, coastal geographer, and ocean advocate. He works toward developing socially just and effective management strategies in coastal areas that enhance the resilience of people where they live, work and play. His past research focused on understanding the dependency of people on coral reefs for coastal protection, recreation, and food. Today, this work has extended to explore how human interventions and global change are likely to influence current and future dependencies on coastal ecosystems (coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass meadows and saltmarshes), as well as equity in coastal communities. Jahson graduated with a PhD in Environmental Biology from the University of the West Indies (Trinidad and Tobago) in 2018 and was a Coastal Sustainability Postdoctoral Fellow at the Marine Science Centre, through a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy and Northeastern University, from 2021-2023.

Dr. Chris Nadeau, climate change adaptation scientist, Schoodic Institute

Chris’s Website

PhD. University of Connecticut

M.S. Cornell University

B.S. University of Arizona

Screen Shot 2020-07-21 at 11.50.31 AM.png

Chris is a climate change biologist trying to predict where species will be most vulnerable to climate change and what actions we can take to reduce biodiversity loss. He uses a combination of simulation modeling, lab and field experiments, and observations to develop a broad understanding of climate change impacts given the many nuances of climate and biology. He received his PhD from the University of Connecticut where he evaluated how fine-scale variation in climate and evolution can alter species responses to climate change. Chris joined the Hughes lab in the summer of 2020 as a David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow. As a Smith Fellow, Chris will work with partners at Acadia National Park and the Schoodic Institute to evaluate whether increasing genetic variation could improve the long-term success of conservation actions under climate change. His work will span ecosystems ranging from seas (e.g., eelgrass) to summits (e.g., alpine plants) to provide a broad evaluation of previously proposed, but untested, genetic-management strategies.

Dr. Nicole Kollars, Lab Manager, University of Minnesota

Nicole’s Website

Ph.D. University of California, Davis
M.S. College of Charleston
B.S. Western Washington University
A.S. Wenatchee Valley College

Nicole is broadly interested in the causes and consequences of biodiversity within and among populations. She conducts this research using a combination of manipulative field experiments, lab mesocosms, and genetic tools. She earned her PhD through the University of California, Davis where she explored how grazing by migratory waterfowl changes the genotypic diversity of eelgrass in Bodega Bay, CA. She joined the Hughes lab in spring of 2021. As a post-doctoral researcher, Nicole will continue to investigate the mechanisms that alter genetic diversity and the consequences of these changes on population performance. She is specifically interested in understanding the role of gene flow in the restoration of Spartina alterniflora populations.

Dr. Theresa Davenport, postdoctoral researcher at lsu

Theresa’s Website

Theresa is a restoration ecologist who applies principles of community and landscape ecology to improve the ability of restored habitats to function and provide ecosystem services. She received her PhD in the Hughes Lab in 2022 and was co-advised by Dr. Jonathan Grabowski.

Coastal and estuarine biogenic habitats provide important ecosystem functions, such as enhancing populations of habitat-dependent organisms. Theresa is examining whether restored oyster reef designs and positions within estuarine landscapes influence their ability to enhance fish and crab populations. Her goal is to provide practical, use-driven conservation and restoration science that informs restoration decision-making and promotes sustainable outcomes that benefit the environment and society. She is also passionate about science communication, mentoring, and enhancing diversity in STEM fields.

dr. rémi bardou, postdoctoral Researcher

Rémi’s Website

PhD. University of California, Los Angeles

Rémi is interested in species response to climatic and anthropogenic changes, especially in mangrove ecosystems. His PhD. focused on studying mangroves response to climate and human impacts in North America and Madagascar. Rémi joined the Hughes Lab in the summer of 2021 as a post-doctoral researcher to work on a NAS Healthy Estuaries Grant examining the ecological and social drivers of mangrove range expansion in the Gulf of Mexico.