Yida Gao
Position
Assistant Research Scientist
Education
Ph.D., Marine Science, University of Texas at Austin, 2014-2020
B.S., Marine Science, Xiamen University, China, 2010-2014
Research Interests
Algal stress responses, bloom decline mechanisms, molecular quantitative methods for species identification, Imaging Flow Cytobot (IFCB), community sequencing analysis, meta-genomic analysis, grazing effects
Current Activities
- Develop and apply new molecular quantitative methods for accurate identification and enumeration of toxic micro-organisms (e.g. Karenia brevis & cysts and nano-cyanobacteria species) from environmental samples.
- Conduct eco-physiological experiments on K. brevis to understand their stress responses (e.g. programmed cell death) to dynamic marine environment.
- Develop and apply IFCB for capturing various Karenia brevis bloom stages, spatial coverage, diel behavior, life history, and changes in cell morphology from environmental stresses.
- Conduct bacterial community analysis based on high-throughput sequencing technique to understand their spatiotemporal change in the Indian Lagoon, FL.
- Conduct in-situ grazing experiment on K. brevis with quantitative-PCR to gain insights into the top-down control on bloom development.
- Develop methods for extracting and quantifying DNA/RNA of K. brevis from marine sediment.
- Maintain the algal culture collections for FWRI and collaborators.