About me
I am currently a NSF Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology at UC Riverside advised by Dr. Jason Stajich. With Dr. Stajich, I am currently working on a variety of computational projects (genomic, metagenomic and phylogenomic) at the interface of both host (insect, amphibian, seaweed and seagrass) and microbe (bacteria, fungi, virus) interactions. I received my Ph.D. in Integrative Genetics and Genomics at UC Davis in Dr. Jonathan Eisen’s laboratory where I studied the seagrass microbiome and seagrass mycobiome. I received my B. A. in Molecular and Cell Biology with a Genetics, Genomics and Development emphasis from UC Berkeley in the spring of 2013. While at UC Berkeley I participated in research in Dr. Ellen Simms’ lab on multiple projects involving rhizobia-legume symbiosis. My current research interests range from sea to summit and encompass questions related to host-microbiome interactions, host-microbiome coevolution and marine fungi.
I have a varied set of personal interests. I enjoy artistic (ceramics, knitting, baking, photography, graphic design), outdoorsy (mountain biking, paddle-boarding, backpacking, hot yoga), and nerdy (board games, books, tv/movies, video games) pursuits. I am also a proud cat parent.
Pronouns:
she|her|hers
Email address:
cassandra.ettinger [at] ucr.edu