Sydney grew up in Perry, NY (nowhere near the ocean). Childhood trips to beaches and aquariums, as well as constantly being outdoors, inspired her love for marine biology from an early age. During her undergraduate career at Stony Brook University, Sydney became interested in coral ecology through internships at Mote Marine Laboratory’s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration and the Central Caribbean Marine Institute. More recently, Sydney graduated with an MS in Biological Sciences from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University. As part of Florida’s largest coral restoration experiment to date, Sydney used high-resolution 2bRAD and ITS2 sequencing to genotype the corals and characterize their algal symbiont communities for a state-wide collaborative project. Her background also includes work in sea turtle and seal rehabilitation, ocean acidification, and scientific/safety diving. Outside of the lab, Sydney has merged art and science into a sustainable ocean apparel company (SLB Art Co) and the To Dive For Podcast, focused on making the intersection between diving and marine science accessible through the amplification of the diverse voices of those who live it firsthand. She is excited to be pursuing her PhD in Townsville working on understanding and characterizing free-living Symbiodiniaceae communities from a range of World Heritage sites using bioinformatics and exploring their impacts on coral fitness when introduced to the host. This project will combine scientific diving, coral spawning, genomics, and algal symbiont culturing!