About Me

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Hi! My name is Jonathan Ye and I'm currently a senior at Hillsborough High School, and I'm currently researching the role of virus association in coral heat tolerance at Rice University with Alex Veglia of the Correa Lab. Together, we're working on determining if certain viral groups are associated with more thermotolerant coral symbiotes. This past April, I published an article in Issue 18 of Oceanographic magazine, discussing how I came to understand coral reefs as living entities and earlier this year I also gave a TEDX Talk discussing the potential of the assisted evolution of coral reefs. This past summer, I presented at the 14th ICRS on the need for citizen scientists and the role of the youth in bringing an immediate end to the coral reef crisis. Aside from my love for coral reefs and marine life, I also enjoy playing chess (my favorite opening is the London) and folding origami. I also like skateboarding and playing sports like basketball, spike-ball and tennis with my friends. I'm super outgoing, so if you have any questions about getting into marine biology, conservation, or coral reefs, feel free to contact me!