Grace McDermott

Biography:

Grace started working at Mote Marine Laboratory in 2023 as a Staff Biologist, after the completion of her M.Sc. degree in Biology at the University of Guam. For her thesis research, she compared differences in disease dynamics, thermal tolerance, and competitive ability between color morphs of an indo-pacific coral species, Porites cylindrica, in the field and in laboratory settings. The results of this study help make predictions of Guam’s future reef flat communities under projections of future climate change scenarios. Before pursuing a graduate degree, she was awarded the NOAA Hollings fellowship as an undergraduate in Marine Science at the University of Maine, which led her to start studying coral reefs. At Mote, Grace’s research focuses on identifying corals that are resilient to stressors such as elevated temperature, disease, and acidification to help inform Mote’s restoration activities. Additionally, her work encompasses research focused on coral disease treatments, disease spatial dynamics, coral microbiomes, running large scale experiments, statistical analysis, writing reports and manuscripts, and managing the Coral Health and Disease wet lab based in Sarasota, FL.