Dr. John Parkinson
Principal Investigator
John serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida, where he teaches classes focused on symbiosis and organic evolution. He graduated with degrees in marine biology from Penn State (Ph.D. ’14) and the University of Miami—RSMAS (B.S. ’09). John’s research duties tend to fall into three categories: diving on coral reefs (fun!), writing terrible R code (not so fun!), and repeatedly failing to get experiments in the lab to work (more fun than you might realize!). Outside of work, John is a big fan of karaoke, his golden retriever, Nova, and his most excellent cat companions, Bill and Ted.
Matt Gamache
Graduate Student (Ph.D. ’25)
Matt graduated with his bachelor’s degree from the University of Tampa in Marine Science-Biology where he used molecular techniques and spatial analyses to study pipefish ecology and conservation. His passion for conservation carried over to his Ph.D. work, which includes classifying microbial communities and functions to quantify coral restoration efficacy as well as coral resistance and resilience to thermal stress. Outside of the lab, Matt enjoys exercising, tending to his garden, and just being outdoors.
Lauren Walling
Graduate Student (Ph.D. ’26)
Lauren graduated with her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She then obtained her master’s degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where she studied DNA methylation in deep-sea Octocorals. Her Ph.D. work will consist of determining DNA methylation patterns within the symbionts of Cnidarians. When she is not in the lab/office you can find Lauren at the beach, hiking, golfing, and sitting on her porch reading a good book.
Matz Indergard
Graduate Student (Ph.D. ’27)
Matz developed a fascination with corals and their endosymbionts while completing a Research Experience for Undergraduates in Little Cayman Island while attending Southern Utah University. He then moved to the Florida Keys, where he worked to restore degraded reefs with the Coral Restoration Foundation. He later graduated with a Master’s degree from the University of North Florida under the guidance of Dr. Matthew Gilg. There he tested the activation of thermal plasticity as a potential tool for coral restoration. At USF, Matz plans to study how intraspecific variation within endosymbionts influences coral host resilience.
Eli Hatten
Graduate Student (M.Sc. ’26)
Eli graduated from the University of South Florida in 2022 with a B.S. in Integrative Biology. While an undergraduate, he worked as a technician in the Parkinson lab, where he could regularly be found taking care of sea anemone and microalgal cultures. Now that he is a Master’s student, his research interests include Aiptasia settlement and gene function, symbiont switching, and selective breeding. In his free time, Eli enjoys snorkeling, keeping aquariums, and growing plants on his balcony.
Awesome Undergraduate Researchers
Samantha Arias
Sean Carleton
Kris Clayton
Peter Fisichella
Anna Machado
Kenna Main
Marisa Mason
Nick Ohrmund
Somesh Patel
Former Lab Members
Dr. Raul Gonzalez-Pech (Postdoc; 2020-2022)
Eleanor Brodrick (Laboratory Technician)
Victoria Holcombe (Undergraduate Researcher)
Khushi Nathani (Undergraduate Researcher)
Melanie Stamper (Undergraduate Researcher)