Principal Investigator
Nicole Fogarty, PhD
Associate Professor
Contact: [email protected]
Although I grew up in Ohio, far from any ocean, I was driven to become a marine biologist since age 10. At 14 years old, I learned to SCUBA dive and saw my first coral reef; it was love at first sight. After graduating from Vandalia-Butler High School in 1994, I attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. During my undergraduate career, I studied marine biology at the Bermuda Biological Station, the Bahamas Field Station in San Salvador, and at Duke University’s Beaufort Marine Laboratory. After graduating from Wittenberg in 1998, I moved to the Florida Keys where I had a variety of positions including: science instructor at Newfound Harbor Marine Institute at Seacamp, an outreach coordinator at The Nature Conservancy, and a scientific technician for Drs. Alina Szmant and Margaret Miller. After a temporary, contract appointment at NOAA’s Beaufort, North Carolina Laboratory in 2003, I began my PhD at Florida State University in Dr. Don Levitan’s lab. My dissertation focused on understanding how Caribbean acroporid hybrids are formed, and why they might be increasing in abundance. After receiving my PhD in 2010, I began a Marine Science Network Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce, Florida. Under the guidance of Drs. Val Paul and Nancy Knowlton, I examined the chemical cue involved in coral spawning synchrony. In July 2012, I was hired by Nova Southeastern University as an assistant professor. In January 2019, I took a faculty position at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. My husband, Kevin DeFosset, is a hydrogeologist at Cherokee. We have two kids, 2 cats, and a dog who keep us very busy, but during our down time we enjoy visiting the beach, hiking, and kayaking. UNCW Biology and Marine Biology Departmental Page | Research Gate
Associate Professor
Contact: [email protected]
Although I grew up in Ohio, far from any ocean, I was driven to become a marine biologist since age 10. At 14 years old, I learned to SCUBA dive and saw my first coral reef; it was love at first sight. After graduating from Vandalia-Butler High School in 1994, I attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. During my undergraduate career, I studied marine biology at the Bermuda Biological Station, the Bahamas Field Station in San Salvador, and at Duke University’s Beaufort Marine Laboratory. After graduating from Wittenberg in 1998, I moved to the Florida Keys where I had a variety of positions including: science instructor at Newfound Harbor Marine Institute at Seacamp, an outreach coordinator at The Nature Conservancy, and a scientific technician for Drs. Alina Szmant and Margaret Miller. After a temporary, contract appointment at NOAA’s Beaufort, North Carolina Laboratory in 2003, I began my PhD at Florida State University in Dr. Don Levitan’s lab. My dissertation focused on understanding how Caribbean acroporid hybrids are formed, and why they might be increasing in abundance. After receiving my PhD in 2010, I began a Marine Science Network Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce, Florida. Under the guidance of Drs. Val Paul and Nancy Knowlton, I examined the chemical cue involved in coral spawning synchrony. In July 2012, I was hired by Nova Southeastern University as an assistant professor. In January 2019, I took a faculty position at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. My husband, Kevin DeFosset, is a hydrogeologist at Cherokee. We have two kids, 2 cats, and a dog who keep us very busy, but during our down time we enjoy visiting the beach, hiking, and kayaking. UNCW Biology and Marine Biology Departmental Page | Research Gate
Current Staff
Dr. Kerri Dobson
Post-Doctorate Scholar
I’m originally from the UK where I gained my BSc in Environmental Geography and International Development, and my MSc in Marine Ecology and Environmental Management. In 2021, I received my PhD from The Ohio State University where I studied the effects of multiple stressors on coral ecophysiology. Since then, I have been a 2021 Knauss Fellow with the Ocean Acidification Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a Post-doctoral Researcher in the McCoy Lab at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and a Teaching Fellow in Marine Biology at the University of Southampton, UK. Through my career thus far, I have conducted coral research in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Madagascar, Hawai'i, and Montserrat. As the Center for Marine Science Postdoctoral Fellow working with Drs Fogarty, Ushijima, and Strangman, my research will focus on coral larval settlement preferences, the impact of environmental stressors on crustose coralline algae (CCA) and corals of the tropical Western Atlantic, and the potential for beneficial microorganisms to aid in the thermal resistance and resilience of CCA and corals.
Post-Doctorate Scholar
I’m originally from the UK where I gained my BSc in Environmental Geography and International Development, and my MSc in Marine Ecology and Environmental Management. In 2021, I received my PhD from The Ohio State University where I studied the effects of multiple stressors on coral ecophysiology. Since then, I have been a 2021 Knauss Fellow with the Ocean Acidification Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a Post-doctoral Researcher in the McCoy Lab at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and a Teaching Fellow in Marine Biology at the University of Southampton, UK. Through my career thus far, I have conducted coral research in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Madagascar, Hawai'i, and Montserrat. As the Center for Marine Science Postdoctoral Fellow working with Drs Fogarty, Ushijima, and Strangman, my research will focus on coral larval settlement preferences, the impact of environmental stressors on crustose coralline algae (CCA) and corals of the tropical Western Atlantic, and the potential for beneficial microorganisms to aid in the thermal resistance and resilience of CCA and corals.
Danielle Norton
Coral Husbandry Technician
Growing up in Akron, Ohio was a less than ideal environment for a child so interested in our oceans. I always knew that I wanted to end up in the world of marine science to help preserve such an important and beautiful part of our planet. I attended Malone University in North Canton, Ohio and majored in wildlife biology with a minor in environmental science. Malone offered really great involvement opportunities for students including experience caring for 50+ exotic animals in our on-campus "zoo" and service learning trips to tag sharks and outplant coral with the University of Miami. During this time, I began to take interest in coral health as a bioindicator of climate change, and I completed my honors thesis on soft coral thermal stress tolerance. After my graduation in 2021, I did an aquarist internship at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium that led into a seasonal position with their extension of the Florida Reef Tract Rescue Project. I joined the REEF lab in September of 2023, and I'm very grateful to be working in a lab that conducts such ecologically valuable projects and to finally be living on the coast.
Coral Husbandry Technician
Growing up in Akron, Ohio was a less than ideal environment for a child so interested in our oceans. I always knew that I wanted to end up in the world of marine science to help preserve such an important and beautiful part of our planet. I attended Malone University in North Canton, Ohio and majored in wildlife biology with a minor in environmental science. Malone offered really great involvement opportunities for students including experience caring for 50+ exotic animals in our on-campus "zoo" and service learning trips to tag sharks and outplant coral with the University of Miami. During this time, I began to take interest in coral health as a bioindicator of climate change, and I completed my honors thesis on soft coral thermal stress tolerance. After my graduation in 2021, I did an aquarist internship at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium that led into a seasonal position with their extension of the Florida Reef Tract Rescue Project. I joined the REEF lab in September of 2023, and I'm very grateful to be working in a lab that conducts such ecologically valuable projects and to finally be living on the coast.
University of North Carolina @ Wilmington | Center for Marine Science
5600 Marvin K. Moss Ln | Wilmington, NC 28409 United States
Nicole Fogarty | (910) 962-2301 | fogartyn@uncw.edu