Dr. Juliet Wong, Assistant Professor of Coastal and Marine Climate Change, Marine Science and Conservation Division, Nicholas School of the Environment
Juliet holds a B.S in marine and atmospheric science from the University of Miami and a Ph.D. in ecology, evolution, and marine biology from the University of California Santa Barbara. She received her postdoctoral training at Florida International University as a Distinguished Postdoctoral Scholar and as a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biology. Juliet joined the faculty at the Duke University Marine Lab in 2023. She enjoys snorkeling, diving, going to the gym, and hanging out with her husband and two three (increasingly round) cats.
Emma Johnson, PhD Student
Emma received a B.S. in biology with minors in chemistry and marine science from UNC Chapel Hill before spending a year working as a research assistant at the Marine Biological Laboratory. She joins the Wong Lab as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow where she is interested in understanding how different species of marine invertebrates respond to climate change and other environmental stressors, as well as how this information can be applied to new conservation and management practices. Outside of the lab, Emma enjoys sailing, hiking, camping, playing pickleball, and making linocut block prints.
Callie Hundley, PhD Student
Callie received a B.A. in biology from Amherst College and worked as a laboratory technician at UC Davis’ Bodega Marine Laboratory before joining the Wong Lab. She is interested in understanding how foundational marine species respond to climate stressors and hopes to identify mechanisms by which resilience to stressors can be maintained or conferred in support of conservation efforts. Outside of research, Callie is a major cinephile who enjoys staying active, baking, and planning adventures with friends.
Henry Sun, PhD Student
Henry majored in Biology and Marine Science and minored in Computer Science at Duke, and then decided to come back for more. He is transfixed by the beauty of evolution and plans to study the impacts of evolutionary history on marine invertebrate responses to warming with Juliet, with an outsized interest in applying machine learning towards biological data analysis. He loves to make Chinese food, stargaze, and play basketball and guitar. His favorite Pokemon is Flygon.
Tessa Nyhan, Undergraduate Student, Rachel Carson Scholar and Bonaventura Fellow
Tessa will graduate from Duke University in 2026 as a Rachel Carson Scholar with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Marine Science & Conservation. Her research focuses on how climate change impacts ecosystem dynamics, particularly through species interactions in marine environments. Working with Dr. Wong, she is investigating how parasitic pea crabs affect oyster respiration under different environmental stressors. Outside the lab, Tessa is also passionate about science journalism and science communication, and she enjoys going to the beach, tide pooling, and writing in her free time.
Ruth Havener, Undergraduate Student, Rachel Carson Scholar
Ruth is a senior at Duke University studying Marine Science and Conservation. Her research interests include shellfish aquaculture and how marine organisms respond to anthropogenic changes. Her current research investigates the use of sea urchins to mitigate biofouling in oyster aquaculture. Outside of the lab, Ruth enjoys reading, hiking, playing Bananagrams and eating ice cream.
Jane Curry, Undergraduate Student
Jane is a senior at Duke University majoring in Marine Science & Conservation. Her current research focuses on understanding thermal stress in oyster larvae. She has been experimenting with creating a small-scale oyster larvae spawning procedure to better understand oyster physiology and, in the future, harden oysters to climate change-induced environmental conditions. She is also a member of the Climate Change Impacts on Farmed and Wild Oysters Bass Connections team with Dr. Juliet Wong and Dr. Tom Schultz. In her free time, she loves scuba diving, reading Jane Austen, and playing country songs on guitar.
Lab Alumni
Samantha George, Undergraduate Student, Rachel Carson Scholar and Bonaventura Fellow
Samantha is a senior at Duke University studying Environmental Science and Marine Science. She is set to graduate in December 2025. Her research interests include investigating how marine invertebrates, particularly eastern oysters, respond to climate change-related stressors. Her current research involves evaluating how the presence of pea crabs impacts the physiological health of oysters when coupled with other environmental stressors. Outside of the lab, Samantha enjoys morning runs, playing NYT games, and listening to old country music.
Maya Brookens, Undergraduate Student, Rachel Carson Scholar and Bonaventura Fellow
Maya graduated from Duke University 2025 with a B.S. in biology with a concentration in marine science. Her research interests focus on the complex interactions within ecosystems centered around foundational vegetation, particularly how these interactions will be affected by climate change. She is also interested in understanding anthropogenic and pathological health risks to marine animals through necropsies and strandings investigations. Under the guidance of Dr. Juliet Wong, Maya investigated the thermal resilience of a Lytechinus variegatus sea urchin population at the species’ northernmost geographic boundary. She plans to work as a research technician to gain further field experience and to refine her interests before pursuing a Ph.D. in marine biology.
maya.brookens@duke.edu
Maya’s CV
Sara Norton, Undergraduate Student, Rachel Carson Scholar
Sara graduated from Duke University in 2025 as a Rachel Carson Scholar with a B.S. in Biology and Marine Science and Conservation. Her research interests focus on the conservation biology of consumers threatened by climate change and human interaction. She is also interested in the social, economic, and cultural connections between people and the ocean. Sara is also passionate about science communication and STEAM education, and in her free time, she enjoys swing dancing, hiking, figure skating, and battling dragons in D&D. Sara is joining the Coastal Communities and Regional Development Master’s Program at the University Centre of the Westfjords in Iceland.
Andrew Barfield, Research Technician
Andrew obtained his B.S. degree in Environmental Sciences with a minor and concentration in Marine Science from North Carolina State University in May, 2023. His research interests are broadly within the fields of marine ecology and conservation biology, with a more specific focus on global change and how anthropogenic and environmental stressors are impacting marine ecosystems. During his undergraduate career, he spent time at NC State’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology facility conducting conservation research on the Crystal skipper, a rare butterfly that is endemic to the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. As a research technician in the Wong Lab, gained experience studying how marine invertebrates are responding to climate change and changes in their environment. Andrew is currently a professional master’s student in Duke’s Master of Environmental Management (MEM) program in the Nicholas School of the Environment.
