Current Lab Members
We work with a wide network of scientific and commercial cooperators, and are always interested in new connections and data sharing. We offer opportunities for guest students, summer student fellows, and graduate students to join our lab.
Scott Lindell
Research Specialist
Scott Lindell is a Research Specialist in marine farming at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Before dedicating the last 17 years to scientific research and development of shellfish and seaweed farming, he was a commercial fish farmer for 15 years. He has managed multiple projects to bridge the biological, engineering and political challenges of developing a thriving marine farming community. His projects include development of methods for combining mussel and seaweed farming, establishing a breeding and genetic improvement program for sugar kelp, and establishing large-scale demonstration farms for kelp in Alaska and New England that may one day provide a significant resource for carbon-neutral biofuels. He has consulted for aquaculture developments in California, Mexico, Haiti, and Morocco. He is an avid swimmer and bicyclist, and leads Town committees devoted to improving bicycling and shellfish resources on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Contact: slindell@whoi.edu
Daniel Gossard
Research Associate III
Daniel Gossard is a phycologist specialized in seaweed ecology and macroalgal culturing. He obtained his M.S. from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) in central California in 2021 and worked as a research technician on a variety of aquacultural and ecological grant funded projects until 2024. Concurrent with his education and work at MLML, Daniel spent 8 years managing, expanding, and innovating at Monterey Bay Seaweeds, a land-based seaweed farm that sells a diverse array of high value central Californian seaweeds to chefs on-demand and year-round. His responsibilities peaked as the Chief Scientist and Production Manager duties before he passed the torch.
Joining the Lindell Lab in 2024, Daniel aspires to leverage his expertise in land-based seaweed aquaculture to facilitate innovative research increasing seaweed aquaculture production capabilities, investigating current and new seaweed aquaculture species, and expanding the value chain of the US seaweed aquaculture industry. Daniel welcomes collaborative interdisciplinary research pertaining to these goals.
Outside of the lab and the field, Daniel enjoys adventuring in the intertidal, SCUBA diving, and playing guitar.
Contact: daniel.gossard@whoi.edu
AMY JONES
Research Assistant II
Amy is a research assistant in the Lindell lab where she supports the sugar kelp aquaculture hatchery, farm deployments, and other projects. She is excited to join this lab for the opportunity to support the research surrounding sustainable aquaculture practices.
Amy graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Boston with a B.S. in Biology in 2023. Her undergraduate research focused on the cross ecosystem coupling of intertidal and subtidal habitats. It was through this research that she gained an interest in the ecological and economic roles of kelp in the Gulf of Maine. When she isn't working in the lab or field, she is making her way through a book, spending time on the beach, hiking, or checking out local eateries with friends.
Contact: amy.jones@whoi.edu
Charles Yarish
Visiting Investigator
Charles Yarish is a Visiting Investigator in the Lindell Laboratory at The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). He is also Professor Emeritus after being a faculty member for 47 years at the University of Connecticut. He has been an adjunct professor or visiting marine scientist at Stony Brook University, The Biologische Anstalt Helgoland (Germany), The University of Groningen (Netherlands) and Shanghai Ocean University (China). He has worked in advancing the global seaweed farming industry and spearheaded the developing kelp industry in the United States. He has an extensive publication record that spans many decades and has been on the cutting edge of research and development initiatives in seaweed science. He is credited for developing the global and North American regenerative seaweed aquaculture industries including Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture & nutrient bioextraction. He has served with many organizations and advisory boards including the US International Executive Service Corps (Kenya), The National Research Council’s Advisory Board for the Institute of BioSciences (Halifax), member of the RCN for the US National Science Foundation genome project on Porphyra, the advisory board for Maine’s Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network (SEANET) and Australian Seaweed Institute. He is also a member of the Algae Foundation’s Algae Technology Educations Consortium and The Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science & Technology Educational Center. He has been a national lecturer, the elected secretary, member of the Phycological of America’s Executive Committee and President (2001). In 2019, he received the Phycological Society of America’s Award of Excellence for his sustained scholarly contributions in, and impact on the field of phycology over his career. Currently, he is the chief scientist for the GreenWave Organization. Dr. Yarish serves as a science advisor to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in support of the expansion of the seaweed industry within the US and globally, and a science advisor to the Blu3 Organization, The Australian Seaweed Institute and W.L. Gore & Associates.
Contact: charles.yarish@whoi.edu
David Bailey
Guest Investigator
Dave Bailey's duties in the lab include all aspects of research, from project development to implementation, including analysis and reporting. Alongside these responsibilities, he participate in mentoring students and interns as well as conducting industry and educational outreach. He is proud and excited to be working on applied aquaculture research where our work at WHOI enables us to pursue knowledge critical to the advancement of sustainable aquaculture in both developed and developing regions of the world. He is particular interested in and adept at projects that merge biology and engineering where his considerable boating and scuba diving skills are vitally useful.
Before working with Scott Lindell, he received an MS from the University of New Hampshire where he focused on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. Prior to graduate school he worked as a Coastal Scientist at the Woods Hole Group, Inc.. He completed a BS in Marine Biology at the University of Rhode Island. When he's not in the office or wetlab, you can find him pursuing his ever-evolving list of hobbies, which are centered around the water, mountains and tinkering.
Contact: dbailey@whoi.edu
HADLEY KERR
Research Assistant II
Hadley joined the Lindell lab in the fall of 2022. She now leads the organization and maintenance of the lab's sugar kelp gametophyte collection, assists with related experiments, as well as farm deployment, farm harvest and other duties around the lab. She is excited to be a part of the WHOI community and looks forward to contributing to the ongoing research for sustainable seaweed aquaculture.
Hadley graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2020 with a B.S. in Biology and a certificate in Coastal and Marine Sciences. While researching fish physiology at UMass, she began to develop an interest in marine conservation and sustainability. In her free time she enjoys cooking and spending time outside and on the water.
Contact: hadley.kerr@whoi.edu
Kaitlyn Tonra
Guest Investigator
Kaitlyn Tonra is a guest investigator from the Menge-Lubchenco Lab at Oregon State University where she is a PhD candidate and NSF fellow. Kaitlyn works closely with our collaborators at Ocean’s Balance in Biddeford, Maine. Her PhD research is on the competitive dynamics of algae on Caribbean coral reefs, interactions between herbivores and intertidal kelp, the ecology of kelp gametophytes, and long-term changes in marine community structure in Washington’s San Juan Islands. Prior to studying seaweeds, Kaitlyn studied biology and sustainable hazelnut agriculture at Oberlin College. She hopes to continue working at the intersection of phycology and sustainability in the future. In addition to seaweeds, Kaitlyn is passionate about the Washington State Ferry system, breakfast sandwiches, G.Evelyn Hutchinson, and long wool coats.
Contact: kaitlyn.tonra@whoi.edu
Morgan Anthony
Research Assistant II
Morgan is excited to join the aquaculture team and work with all aspects of seaweed aquaculture from hatchery to farm. She is inspired by the focus on sustainable regenerative farming practices in the industry and hopes to help it advance with current research.
Morgan has a varied background in environmental and marine field research as well as commercial lab experience. She graduated with a BS from the University of Rhode Island where she took a phycology course that first piqued her interest in seaweeds and eventually led her to WHOI. In her free time you can find her hiking, kayaking, and enjoying local eateries.
Contact: morgan.anthony@whoi.edu
Sarah Pierce
Research Assistant I
Sarah joined the Lindell in May 2024 as a lab assistant, just in time for the kelp harvest season. She first studied seaweed as an NSF – REU intern in the Micheli Lab at Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, where she investigated how ocean acidification affects the nutritional quality of seaweed growing along volcanic vents that release carbon dioxide. Her work contributed to broader research investigating how the nutritional quality of seaweed influences the grazing behavior of herbivores to elucidate shifts in ecosystems under ocean acidification. She further became interested in the sustainable applications of seaweed as an undergraduate student, where she studied how seaweed-based fertilizer affects crop-associated microbial communities. Beyond the ocean sciences, Sarah studied yeast at the single-cell level for use as a model organism for radiobiology experiments while an intern at NASA Ames Research Center. She is excited to continue learning more about seaweed aquaculture and contributing to the Lindell Lab.
Beyond lab, Sarah enjoys being outdoors, especially running and sailing. On the weekends, she can be found playing Dungeons and Dragons with her friends and spending time at her favorite jazz club, Wally’s in Boston. She plays piano. She owns two pocket watches and one monocle.
Contact: sarah.pierce@whoi.edu
Yaoguang Li
Science Advisor
Yaoguang Li is a passionate seaweed breeder and geneticist who specializes in applying genetics and genomics to enhance sugar kelp varieties for aquaculture. She holds a Ph.D. in Agronomy, focusing on wheat breeding and genomics. Since January 2020, Yaoguang has been involved in our genomic selection project for sugar kelp at the University of Connecticut, where her research focuses on developing improved kelp strains for higher yield and resilience.
As a skilled communicator, Yaoguang plays a pivotal role in bridging collaborations between plant breeders and seaweed biologists, fostering interdisciplinary cooperation to tackle global challenges in sustainable aquaculture. Beyond her breeding expertise, she is also deeply interested in exploring new seeding and cultivation technologies that can revolutionize seaweed farming practices.
Contact: yaoguang.agq@gmail.com
Past Lab Members
Sara Gonzalez
Postdoctoral Scholar
Sara is a postdoctoral scholar at WHOI working primarily in the Lindell lab and with other researchers in AOP&E and BIO departments. She is interested in applying her research on seaweed ecology, physiology, and chemistry toward sustainable seaweed aquaculture. With a background in giant kelp morphology, genetics, and alginate chemistry, Sara is excited to work with sugar kelp and other seaweeds in the Lindell lab with growing global markets.
Sara received a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She values collaborations and has conducted research on both the east and west coasts of the U.S. as well as in Costa Rica, Chile, and Norway. In her free time, Sara enjoys going to the beach, biking, and figure skating.
Contact: sara.gonzalez@whoi.edu
RACHEL YATES
Lab Assistant I
Rachel is a summer lab assistant. She helps out with tasks such as culture maintenance, dosing and weighing tropical seaweed, and grinding dry samples of kelp.
Rachel is going into her second year at Whitman College and intends to pursue their combined Biology-Environmental Studies major. In her free time, she likes to play soccer, crochet, read, and spend time with friends and family.
Contact: rachel.yates@whoi.edu
Margaret Aydlett
Research Assistant
Maggie’s roles in the lab include maintaining sugar kelp cultures, assisting with kelp farm deployment and harvest, and running hatchery experiments. She is excited to be working on projects that contribute to the advancement of sustainable aquaculture. In addition to kelp aquaculture, she is also interested in educational outreach and kelp forest ecosystems.
Maggie joined the WHOI community in the summer of 2019 when she studied with the Lindell Lab as a guest student. She experimented with different culturing techniques of sugar kelp gametophytes. In December of 2019, she graduated with a B.S. in Marine Sciences from the University of Maine, and completed an honor's thesis advised by Dr. Susan Brawley. Her thesis focused on the microbiome of intertidal seaweeds. She enjoys rollerblading, paddle boarding, and playing rugby in her free time.
Contact: maggie.aydlett@greenwave.org
Madison Conn
Lab Assistant I
Madison is a summertime casual assistant who began her journey at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in September 2021 as an intern through a program at Falmouth High School.
She is an undergraduate student from the University of Rhode Island, where she studies marine biology and marine affairs. She has great interest in marine policy as well as environmental preservation. Madison enjoys spending her free time paddle boarding, snorkeling, and watercolor painting.
Contact: madison.conn@whoi.edu
RASHAWNA HUNTLEY
IN FISH Guest Student
Rashawna Huntley is a student at Johnson C. Smith University, pursuing a major in Biology and minors in Sustainability and Chemistry. She currently serves as a Guest Student Researcher at WHOI in the Environmental Systems Labs, under the guidance of Dr. Scott Lindell and Dr. Sara Gonzalez. Born and raised in North Carolina, Rashawna has a keen interest in comparing water quality across the physiographic provinces of the Carolinas and exploring freshwater aquaculture. She participated in the Summer 2022 Sustainability Experiential Immersion program at JCSU, before joining the Inclusive NOAA Fisheries Internship Program (IN FISH).
Prior to joining WHOI, Rashawna focused on studying surface water quality. She worked closely with Dr. Mark Dugo, exploring relationships between land use practices and water quality, with an emphasis on the significance of riparian zones. Now at WHOI, Rashawna is actively involved in culturing tropical seaweed, aiming to identify the most effective practices for biomass production. When she's not working, Rashawna enjoys longboarding, drawing, painting, and traveling.
Contact: rashawna.huntley@whoi.edu
NORA SAUERS
Summer Student Fellow
Nora is a Summer Student Fellow at WHOI working on identifying heat tolerant strains of sugar kelp to ensure that kelp farming can continue to thrive and expand with rising ocean temperatures. She came to the Lindell lab because of her interest in seaweed farming for sustainable food, fuel, and climate change mitigation. Nora is excited to learn about all aspects of the selective breeding program and be a part of the WHOI community. In addition to performing experiments, she has enjoyed assisting with the duties of the lab, such as harvesting and phenotyping.
Nora is a senior at North Carolina State University majoring in biological engineering with a minor in marine science. She plans to combine her experience from the Lindell lab with engineering as she pursues seaweed farm design and other aspects of sustainable aquaculture in the future.
Contact: noralsauers@gmail.com
JOB COHEN
Guest Student
Job is a graduate student of Biobased Sciences at Wageningen University, The Netherlands, and is performing his research thesis as a guest student at WHOI. With a background in breeding for land-based crops, he is now devoted to the biobased applications of kelps. Having done his internship at a kelp seed supplier in The Netherlands, he now wants to learn more about the possibilities of breeding for kelp varieties suited to specific markets. At WHOI, he is looking into the environmental variables on early growth and attachment strength of young kelp plants and exploring the genetic diversity for attachment quality in different strains.
He enjoys many outdoors activities like hiking, exploring new places, and training for and completing triathlons in his spare time.
Contact: job.cohen@whoi.edu
Carly Daiek
Research Assistant
Carly Daiek works as a Research Assistant in the lab, where she assists in the design and development of experiments and hatchery duties. She enjoys studying the complex interface between biology and engineering and its applications in sustainable aquaculture research.
Before joining the lab, Carly received an MS from Michigan State University where she studied Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering. Her thesis focused on the optimization of a pilot-scale photobioreactor system for CO2 sequestration through microalgae cultivation. In her free time, she enjoys backpacking, scuba diving, surfing, music and international travel.
Contact: daiekcar@gmail.com
Ethan Jezek
Guest Student
Ethan Jezek is a Guest Student that assists in aquaculture research at both WHOI and the Marine Biological Laboratory. Along with culture maintenance, he is modelling the economic costs of small-scale tropical seaweed farming off the coast of Puerto Rico with Dr. Hauke Kite-Powell at the Marine Policy Center at WHOI. His ambitions are to utilize applied research to allow for the continuation of small-scale fisheries and the implementation of small-scale aquaculture, in less developed regions of our dramatically changing world. He is especially excited to be working on applied aquaculture work at WHOI that provides critical insight on innovations crucial to the attainment of his career goals.
As a fourth-year marine biology student at the University in St. Andrews (Scotland), Ethan is heavily involved in biology life on campus, serving many roles in a number of biology focused groups. Ethan excitedly looks forward to building upon his current work at WHOI for his upcoming fourth-year thesis project. Outside of work, he pursues numerous musical interests, and you can find him enjoying the outdoors around town fishing, cycling, bouldering, or snorkeling.
Contact: ethan.jezek@whoi.edu