Stony coral tissue loss disease etiology

After dredging off the port of Miami in 2014, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) – the most widespread and contagious coral disease to-date – emerged in the Caribbean. SCTLD is a waterborne disease that has devastated over 30 species of Caribbean corals through rapidly spreading disease lesions that expose coral skeleton. Currently, the causative agent of SCTLD remains unknown. I am interested in SCTLD etiology, specifically the role of coral-associated algal endosymbionts (family Symbiodiniaceae) in disease susceptibility and progression.