Dr. Julia Van Etten
Principal Investigator

Julia received her B.S. in Marine Science and Biology at University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, where she began her research career working on growth optimization of red seaweeds and then sea urchin molecular development. In the two years between college and graduate school she started Couch Microscopy, a multimedia project documenting the biodiversity of microorganisms that live around us but are rarely seen; this work continues today and has shaped her approach to research and science communication. She then did her Ph.D. at Rutgers University in Debashish Bhattacharya’s lab, where she worked on the role of horizontal gene transfer in eukaryotes, and specifically as a driver of adaptive evolution in extremophilic red algae, funded by the NASA FINESST and JGI CSP programs. After graduating, Julia began postdoctoral research in Matthew Johnson’s lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution where she is investigating DNA-transfer driven ecological relationships as an NSF PRFB fellow. She is beyond excited to expand this work as an assistant professor at University of Maryland in the Department of Biology, beginning Summer 2026!

You can view her CV here.

Prof. Debashish Bhattacharya
Rutgers University

The Van Etten lab will be recruiting undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers for Fall 2026 and Spring 2027. It’s important to begin applying for fellowships early, so please reach out! More info here.

Collaborators