Sydney Brown

I am fascinated with the microbial world, with all its unknown beauty and utility. I am currently finishing up my Master's degree at Georgia College & State University, where I completed my B.S. in 2020. I have been involved in the Manoylov Phycology lab, working with Dr. Kalina Manoylov, since 2018. My undergraduate research consisted of working with population dynamics of Gomphonema parvulum within the Southeastern United States. I have shifted my graduate research into investigating rates of recovery of impacted streams, assessing diatom community dynamics in recovering and low-impact streams in middle Georgia. The other goal of my graduate research is to capture the biodiversity in this region, as the Southeast has been documented as biodiverse hotspot for other organisms and an at-risk area as well for biodiversity loss (Stein, 2002; Smith et al., 2002). I aspire to continue my work with algal ecology and the conservation of freshwater ecosystems, and spread the word that algae are amazing!

Reference
Stein, B.A. (2002). States of the Union: Ranking America’s Biodiversity. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Smith, R.K., Freeman, P.L., Higgins, J.V., Wheaton, K.S., FitzHugh, T.W., Ernstrom, K.J., Das, A.A. (2002). Priority Areas for Freshwater Conservation Action: A Biodiversity Assessment of the Southeastern United States. The Nature Conservancy.