Dr. Jonathan Grabowski
Principal Investigator
B.S. Duke University, Biology & Economics
Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ecology
My research interests span issues in ecology, fisheries and conservation biology, social-ecological coupling, environmental policy, and ecological economics. I have used a variety of estuarine (oyster reef, seagrass, salt marsh, mud bottom) and marine (kelp bed, cobble-ledge) systems to examine how resource availability, habitat heterogeneity and predation risk affect population dynamics, community structure, and ecosystem functioning. Much of this work focuses on economically important species such as lobsters, cod, herring, monkfish, and oysters, and consequently is relevant for fisheries and ecosystem management. My lab also focuses on how habitat degradation and restoration influence benthic community structure, population structure, and the transfer of energy to higher trophic levels. In addition, we are interested in how fisheries management initiatives such as the design of closed areas, delineation of stock boundaries, fishing gear modifications, and quota setting impact fish population structure and fisheries productivity, essential fish habitat protection, community structure, and the social capital of stakeholders.
Much of my research involves highly coupled social-ecological systems and integrates social and natural science approaches. For instance, we are examining the ecological consequences of shoreline hardening on ecosystem service provisioning while also investigating how the environmental connectedness of coastal residents influences their decision-making around this issue. We are also examining factors that influence coastal fishing communities’ perceptions of and trust in management to help improve their buy in and identify potential barriers. Finally, we are determining how factors such as urbanization and resource specialization influence the perceptions and values of coastal residents so that we can design more effective environmental policies around issues such as climate hazard preparedness and coastal habitat and resource management.
Email: j.grabowski@northeastern.edu
Dr. Diana Chin
Associate Research Scientist
Metro Boston Regional Coordinator, MassBays National Estuary Partnership
B.A. Boston University
Ph.D. Stony Brook University
Diana graduated from Boston University in 2008 with a B.A. in Biology with Specialization in Marine Science. She then worked for Amec (now Wood) and Arcadis as a human health and environmental risk assessment consultant, before moving to New York to pursue a Ph.D. in Marine and Atmospheric Science at Stony Brook University. After completing her Ph.D. in 2019, Diana moved to Florida as an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biology with appointments at the University of Florida and Florida International University. She relocated back to the Boston area in 2023 to join the Grabowski lab at Northeastern University. Diana’s graduate and postdoctoral research focused on mutualisms involving coastal foundation species, with an emphasis on the roles of chemosymbiotic bivalves (solemyid and lucinid clams) in seagrass ecosystems. Her ongoing research interests include bivalve-seagrass relationships and the application of plant-animal-sediment interaction research – and benthic ecology more broadly – toward coastal conservation, resilience, fisheries, aquaculture, and habitat restoration goals. As a Regional Coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s MassBays program, Diana convenes the Boston Harbor Ecosystem Network (BHEN) and works to identify priorities for coastal health and protection in the Metro Boston region.
Email: di.chin@northeastern.edu
Kelsey Schultz
Postdoctoral Researcher
B.S. The Ohio State University
M.S. Northeastern University
Ph.D. Northeastern University
Kelsey graduated from The Ohio State University in 2014 with a B.S. in Biology. Directly following graduation, she entered into the Three Seas Master’s program at Northeastern, where she focused on the effects of oyster density, biomass, and tidal height on biogeochemical cycling on natural oyster reefs. After receiving her Master’s degree, Kelsey was hired as the research technician for the Grabowski lab, where she worked for 2.5 years before transitioning into her PhD in the fall of 2018. Kelsey’s dissertation research uses a SES perspective of the oyster industry to understand how to more efficiently provide ecosystem services to increase human well-being and ecosystem health and function.
Email: schultz.k@northeastern.edu
Dr. Jessica Griffin
Coastal Sustainability Postdoctoral Fellow
Northeastern University and The Nature Conservancy
B.S. University of Connecticut
Ph.D. University of California, Davis and San Diego State University
Jessica graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2017 with a B.S. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science. After graduation, she worked at the University of Vermont Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory as a research technician until enrolling in the Joint Doctoral Program in Ecology at University of California, Davis and San Diego State University. Jessica’s dissertation research focused on how climate change, eutrophication and invasive species may alter interactions between eelgrass and bivalves. In her current position as the Coastal Sustainability Postdoctoral Research Fellow with Northeastern University and The Nature Conservancy, she is applying her research on eelgrass-bivalve interactions to improve outcomes for eelgrass restoration.
Email: je.griffin@northeastern.edu
Eric Schneider
Ph.D. Candidate
B.S. University of Massachusetts, Amherst
M.S. University of Rhode Island
Eric graduated from University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a B.S. in Natural Resource Sciences in 2000. He then worked as a research technician in a variety of systems for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, UMass Cooperative Research Unit, and National Park Service, as well for Wake Forest University in the Galapagos Archipelago, before pursuing a Master’s Degree at the University of Rhode Island (URI). After completing his M.S. at URI in 2005, Eric began his career at the Rhode Island (RI) Dept. of Environmental Management (DEM) in the Office of Water Resources as biologist in the before moving to the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) in 2008. At DMF, Eric has broad habitat-related responsibilities focusing on habitat assessment, protection, and restoration. Since 2014, he has led the DMF oyster restoration program and worked collaboratively with Drs. Jonathan Grabowski and Randall Hughes, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) on oyster-related research in RI. Eric is co-advised by Drs. Grabowski and Hughes and is broadly interested in fisheries, conservation, and community ecology. In the Grabowski lab, Eric is particularly interested using standardized survey and analytical approaches to quantify fish and mobile invertebrate production of restored oyster reefs, as well as assessing how restoration practices, oyster reef community properties, and environmental factors influence restoration success. He’s also particularly interested using approaches that consider both social and ecological aspects to develop restoration plans for shellfish in RI.
Email: eric.schneider@dem.ri.gov
Sarah Gibbs
Ph.D. Candidate
B.S. Northeastern University
Sarah graduated from Northeastern University with a B.S. in Environmental Science in 2021. She is interested in the social-ecological dynamics of fisheries and improving stakeholder engagement in management. Her current research focuses on identifying the adaptive capacity of commercial fishing fleets in the Gulfs of Alaska and Maine.
Email: gibbs.sa@northeastern.edu
Alicia Miller
Ph.D. Candidate
B.S. The George Washington University
M.S. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Alicia graduated with a B.S. in Biology from The George Washington University in 2003. After completing her undergraduate studies, she worked as a taxonomy technician for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Systematics Laboratory at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. Two years later she relocated to NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) in Woods Hole, MA, and would continue her career over the next 15+ years working on a variety of fisheries issues including collecting and processing fisheries and oceanographic data, developing ecosystem-based surveys, utilizing tagging data to better understand the marine migration of Atlantic salmon, working to include environmental variables in modeling population dynamics, developing data visualization techniques, and modeling entanglement risk of fixed gear fisheries on large whales. While working at the NEFSC she also completed a M.S. in 2010 from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s School of Marine Science and Technology where her research investigated the effects of epizootic shell disease on early life history of the American lobster. Alicia joined the Grabowski Lab in 2021 and hopes to focus her dissertation research around her current work with North Atlantic right whales.
Email: alicia.miller@noaa.gov
Neida Villanueva Galarza
Ph.D. Candidate
B.S. Northeastern University
Neida graduated from Northeastern University in 2023 with a B.S. in Environmental Science. As an undergraduate student and now as a technician, Neida has coupled her interests in social science and programming to tackle projects aimed at integrating underrepresented communities into scientific research. Her broader interests aim to expand on these skills while also exploring how changing species interactions impact ecosystem functioning through density and trait mediated effects.
Anita Novianty
Ph.D. Candidate
B.A. Psychology, Gadjah Mada University
M.A. Psychology, Gadjah Mada University
Anita earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. Currently, she is a lecturer in the Faculty of Psychology, Krida Wacana Christian University, Indonesia. Her previous research focused on the cultural perspective of mental health issues within diverse Indonesian communities. She also collaborated with the village’s youth to preserve traditional knowledge and maintain social harmony in a post-disaster community program. The impact of climate change on community mental health is widely unknown, particularly in Indonesian communities facing environmental struggles. By joining an interdisciplinary program in Human Behavior and Sustainability Science under Professor Jonathan Grabowski’s mentorship, she seeks to explore the intersection between climate change and community mental health, and gain ideas, as well as set skills on how to incorporate environmental factors into community mental health initiatives.
Email: novianty.a@northeastern.edu
Wendi White
Lab Manager
B.S. San Diego State University
M.S. University of Massachusetts Boston
Wendi graduated from San Diego State University with a B.S. in biology in 2018. Following her graduation she started as the laboratory technician in Dr. Jeremy Long’s lab studying the effects of invasive seaweeds on intertidal communities. After working in the lab for two years, Wendi moved to Boston to pursue a Master’s Degree at the University of Massachusetts Boston in Dr. Jarrett Byrnes’ lab. For her masters she studied the effects of sea level rise and plant morphology on sedimentation in marshes. She started as the laboratory technician in the Grabowski lab after completing her Master’s Degree in May 2022. As the research technician Wendi aids in coordinating lab business and assisting on various lab/student led projects. She enjoys getting to work alongside both undergraduate and graduate students as they learn to conduct high impact science. Wendi has researched various coastal ecosystems and species but broadly has a passion for studying anthropogenic impacts on our oceans/coasts.
Email: w.white@northeastern.edu
