Jo Hickman is a graduate student in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Biological Oceanography. They graduated from Utah Valley University with degrees in bioinformatics, earth science, and philosophy. Past research experiences include mangrove metagenomics for community classification and conservation ecology, elevated trace metal concentrations from anthropogenic sources in lake ecosystems, microbial biogeography and community composition across Wallace’s Line, accuracy and efficacy of metagenomic tools in model versus non-model systems, the social implications of nuclear waste in the Navajo Nation, and the ecological, economic, and infrastructural possibility of agroforestry between cacao and cashew in Guinea-Bissau.

Jo works at the interface of microbial ecology, nutrient physiology, bioinformatics, and experimental/field work in the Alexander Lab. In particular, they conduct laboratory culture experiments on calcifying phytoplankter Emiliania huxleyi and explore community ecology via metatranscriptomics, including data from Bio-GO-SHIP. Jo is excited about questions related to microbial diversity, acclimation and adaptation in response to global change, with applications in conservation ecology and science policy. They are interested in science communication and computer/data science literacy.