Dr. Marie Strader, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University, has been awarded a prestigious NSF CAREER grant to support her pioneering research in evolutionary genomics and resilience biology. Her work focuses on understanding how organisms respond to rapidly changing environments through a combination of adaptation and phenotypic plasticity, using the thermally resilient upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana as a model. This species, known for its expanding range along both coasts of Florida, offers a powerful system for investigating the interplay between genetics, epigenetics, and symbiotic relationships in facilitating range expansion and resilience to climate stressors.
Dr. Strader’s research program integrates physiology, genomics, and epigenomics to dissect the evolutionary and plastic mechanisms that enable Cassiopea to colonize novel habitats.
By leveraging clonal propagation and advanced molecular tools, her lab will quantify changes in physiology and gene-expression in response to cold, explore the genetic and epigenetic underpinnings of range expansion, and assess fitness impacts across generations in experimental evolution studies. These efforts are not only advancing fundamental understanding of how organisms cope with climate change but are also filling major gaps in our knowledge of how jellyfish are thriving and expanding their habitat range.
The CAREER award also supports Dr. Strader’s innovative educational and outreach initiatives, amplifying her impact within the Texas A&M Biology Department and beyond. She is launching a community science program to track jellyfish range shifts in collaboration with the public and will implement a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) titled “Experimental Evolution to Address Global Change.” This course will provide first-generation students with hands-on training in experimental biology and genomics.
Through her dynamic research and inclusive pedagogy, Dr. Strader is emerging as a rising star in evolutionary genomics and a transformative force in the department’s efforts to understand fundamental mechanisms underlying evolution and biological resilience.