Sonya Dyhrman is an earth and environmental sciences professor who studies the physiology of phytoplankton and their role within marine ecosystems. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

Education and career

Dyrhman grew up in Washington where she spent days clamming on Puget Sound and started scuba diving before she could drive. She went to

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

and received her B.A. in 1994. She then earned her Ph.D. from

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is the center for oceanography and Earth science at the University of California, San Diego. Its main campus is located in La Jolla, with additional facilities in Point Loma. Founded in 1903 and incorpo ...

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

in 1999. Following her Ph.D., she joined

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it i ...

as postdoc and transitioned onto the scientific staff in 2002. In 2014, she moved to

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) is a research, research institution specializing in the Earth science and climate change. Though part of Columbia University, it is located on a separate closed campus in Palisades, New York. The obs ...

(LDEO) where she is a professor in earth and environmental sciences.

Research

Dyhrman uses molecular tools to examine phytoplankton in marine systems, with a focus on their ecosystem structure and biogeochemical impact. Her Ph.D. research examined the role of phosphate stress on phytoplankton where she identified proteins found in dinoflagellates grown under phosphate-limited conditions and then applied this tool to assess phosphate-stress conditions in the field. She has examined variability in how phytoplankton consume and produce different forms of phosphorus including dissolved organic phosphorus,

polyphosphate A polyphosphate is a Salt (chemistry), salt or ester of polymeric oxyanions formed from tetrahedral PO4 (phosphate) structural units linked together by sharing oxygen atoms. Polyphosphates can adopt linear or a cyclic (also called, ring) structure ...

, and

phosphonates In organic chemistry, phosphonates or phosphonic acids are organophosphorus compounds containing groups, where R is an organic group (alkyl, aryl). If R is hydrogen then the compound is a dialkyl phosphite, which is a different functional gr ...

. Dyhrman has also looked at cell-specific phosphorus stress using

Trichodesmium ''Trichodesmium'', also called sea sawdust, is a genus of filamentous cyanobacteria. They are found in nutrient poor tropical and subtropical ocean waters (particularly around Australia and in the Red Sea, where they were first described by Capt ...

as a model cyanobacteria, and specifically examined how use Trichodesmium use phosphonate in the ocean. A portion of her research interests include investigations into diatoms, cyanobacteria, and harmful algal organisms.

Selected publications

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Awards and honors

* Marie Tharp Fellow, Columbia University Earth Institute (2007) * Sir Allan Sewell Fellow,

Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

* Kavli Fellow, National Academy Frontiers of Science 2014, 2016) * Fellow,

American Academy of Microbiology American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

(2019)

References

External links

* Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology Dartmouth College alumni University of California, San Diego alumni Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory people Living people Women ecologists American oceanographers {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyhrman, Sonya 1972 births