Laura is a Ph.D. student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill studying coral reef ecology. Her research combines fieldwork and modeling to evaluate the resilience of coral reefs to disturbance, and how this response is affected by warming oceans. Prior to graduate school, Laura earned degrees in Marine Biology and Environmental Studies and spent two years in the Philippines working as a Coastal Resource Management advisor. In the future, Laura will continue ecological and conservation-based research, hopefully serving as a link between scientific inquiry and on-the-ground management initiatives.