Image: Chen Shen, a student in Brian Hopkinson’s lab, successfully defended her thesis “Carbon Dioxide Concentrating Mechanisms in Marine Diatoms: Genetics, Physiology, and Diversity” on April 20, 2016. Chen’s work shed light on the molecular mechanisms that are used by marine diatoms, an important group of algae in the ocean, to acquire carbon for photosynthesis. These systems are known as carbon dioxide concentrating mechanisms and they are currently of interest for the way in which they modify the response of marine algae to rising CO2 concentrations. Her thesis committee was composed of Tish Yager, Brian Hopkinson, Brian Binder, Mary Ann Moran, and Boris Striepen (see photo). Congratulations Chen!
