Dr. Marie Strader

Biography

Marie Strader is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University, where she joined in 2022. Her research focuses on understanding how ecological and evolutionary processes respond to human-induced changes in the environment, particularly within marine invertebrate taxa. Strader employs an integrative research approach that combines natural history, physiological and behavioral experiments, molecular biology, and large-scale genomic data to uncover the mechanistic understanding of how marine invertebrates persist in rapidly changing habitats. Her lab has three key research areas: 1) the ecological and evolutionary epigenetics concerning the biochemical modifications of DNA and their role in gene regulation; 2) the genetic and molecular bases of organismal responses to multiple stressors, particularly in broadcast spawning marine invertebrates that exhibit high genetic variation; and 3) the influence of phenotypic plasticity on organismal responses to rapid environmental change. Strader's work utilizes ecologically relevant marine invertebrate models, including corals, sea urchins, and jellyfish, to answer fundamental questions within this broad framework.

Research Interests