My current research focuses on determining the metabolic and related physiological responses of corals to acute thermal stress in combination with salinity fluctuations. I am also interested in parsing out differences in thermal sensitivity between Pocillopora “species” from across the TEP. I enjoy mentoring students from underrepresented minorities in STEM and leveraging my native language, Spanish, to mentor Latino students in Panama. I received my PhD from Temple University, a masters in Environmental Studies from Florida International University, and an undergraduate degree in Biological Science from Florida Atlantic University.