Dr. Erinn Muller

Coral Health & Disease

Program Manager and Science Director of the Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration

Dr. Muller's research focuses on coral health and disease dynamics. She applies a comprehensive approach that spans from understanding shifts in microbial assemblages of corals to applying hierarchical spatial and temporal models to understand the drivers causing coral-disease outbreaks. Dr. Muller's goal is to determine how coral health and disease change under climate change and ocean acidification conditions. She anticipates that once we understand the mechanisms leading to compromised coral health we can prevent disease outbreaks in our future.

In April 2018, Dr. Muller was promoted to Science Director of the Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration.

Education

2011 Ph.D. Biology, Florida Institute of Technology, Graduate Advisor: Dr. Robert van Woesik, Ph.D.

2007 M.S. Marine Biology, Florida Institute of Technology, Graduate Advisor: Robert van Woesik, Ph.D.

2003 B.S. Marine Biology, Florida Institute of Technology

Publications

Recent publications

Hall, E.R., Muller, E.M., Goulet, T., Bellworthy, J., Ritchie, K.B., Fine, M. (2018). Eutrophication may compromise the resilience of the Red Sea coral Stylophora pistillata to global change. Mar. Pollut. Bull., 131, 701-711. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.04.067

Morrow, K.M., Muller, E., Lesser, M.P. (2018) Chapter 7, How does the coral microbiome cause, respond to, or modulate the bleaching process? In M.J.H. van Oppen, J. Lough (Eds.), Coral Bleaching: Patterns, Processes, Causes and Consequences, Second Edition (pp. 153-188). Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. 10.1007/978-3-319-75393-5

Muller, E.M., Bartels, E., Baums, I.B. (2018). Bleaching causes loss of disease resistance within the threatened coral species Acropora cervicornis. eLife, 7:e35066. doi: 10.7554/eLife.35066

Page, C.A., Muller, E.M., Vaughan, D.E. (2018). Microfragmenting for the successful restoration of slow growing massive corals. Ecol. Eng., 123, 86-94. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2018.08.017

Randall, C.J., Whitcher, E.M., Code, T., Pollock, C., Lundgren, I., Hillis-Starr, Z., Muller, E.M. (2018). Testing methods to mitigate Caribbean yellow-band disease on Orbicella faveolata. PeerJ 6:e4800. doi:10.7717/peerj.4800

Awards & Honors

Young Scientist Award, International Society for Reef Studies (2015)
Haverling High School Hall of Distinction (2015)
International Society for Reef Studies Council Member (2013 – 2017)
Mote Marine Laboratory Postdoctoral Fellowship (2012 – 2014)
Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship, NOAA (2008-2012)
Recipient of AAAS/Science Program for Excellence (2006)
LOCAP 10th ICRS Travel Fellowship (2004)

Meet the Team