Carly Karrick

Carly is an environmental microbiologist interested in how microbial communities influence host phenotypes. In her dissertation work, she integrates omics signatures of microbial activity with microscopy image analysis to understand how microalgae, bacteria, and viruses influence coral disease, and how consumers shape these microbial communities on a coral reef.

Admittance Semester/Year and Program

Fall 2022, Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (Rice University)

Spring 2024, Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (Transferred to UC Berkeley with lab)

Education 

B.S., Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 2022

B.A., Spanish, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 2022

Research Lab 

Correa Lab

Selected Publications 

• Rossin, A.M., Beavers, K.M., Karrick, C.E., Bloomberg, J., Meiling, S., Carpenter, G.E., Farmer, B.H., Green, B., Van Buren, E., Veglia, A.J., Apprill, A., Brandt, M., Correa, A.M.S., Enochs, I.C., Midway, S.R., Muller, E.M., Mydlarz, L., Smith, T.B., Studivan, M.S., and Holstein, D.M. (2026). Runaway coral-algal dysbiosis may be responsible for rapid coral tissue loss. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35666-4 

• Titus, K.R., Castellon, R., Washington, C., Rohl, J., Grupstra, C., Bloomberg, J., Coy, S., Farmer, B., Karrick, C.E., Meiling, S., Quetel, J., Rossin, A., Veglia, A., Watkins, J., Evans, K., Apprill, A., Brandt, M., Holstein, D.M., Mydlarz, L.D., and Correa, A.M.S. Caribbean fish feces are an environmental hotspot of viable Symbiodiniaceae. [Manuscript in press at Frontiers in Microbiology]

• Beavers, K.M., Van Buren, E., Rossin, A., Emery, M., Veglia, A.J., Karrick, C.E., MacKnight, N.J., Dimos, B.A., Meiling, S.S., Smith, T.B., Apprill, A., Muller, E.M., Holstein, D.M., Correa, A.M.S., Brandt, M.E., & Mydlarz, L.D. (2023). Stony coral tissue loss disease induces transcriptional signatures of in situ degradation of dysfunctional Symbiodiniaceae. Nature Communications, 14, 2915. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38612-4

• Howe-Kerr, L.I., Knochel, A.M., Meyer, M.D., Sims, J.A., Karrick, C.E., Grupstra, C.G.B., Veglia, A.J., Thurber, A.R., Vega Thurber, R.L., & Correa, A.M.S. (2023). Filamentous virus-like particles are present in coral dinoflagellates across genera and ocean basins, The ISME Journal, 17(12), 2389-2402. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-023-01526-6

Selected Presentations 

• (November 2024) Viral EcoGenomics & Applications (VEGA) Symposium: Poster - Carly E. Karrick: Investigating the potential role of viruses in a coral disease outbreak in the northwest Gulf of Mexico

Selected Honors and Awards 

• D-Lab Data Science & AI Fellowship (2025-26)

• Honorable Mention, Graduate Research Fellowship (2024)

• Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship (2021)