My name is “Gerid.” I earned my PhD in Marine Biology/ Biological Oceanography at the University of Southern California (see “Here today, gone 3 days later” for a high-level snapshot of my thesis work).

Ultimately, I am a biologist, a scientist studying how life works. Life—here I mean, the physical, chemical, evolutionary, cellular, and ecological processes that influence the survival and reproduction of a living thing—on our planet is facilitated by mechanisms occurring inside of everything living individual and (at a higher level) inside of every community, processes as real as gravity that border on miracle and magic. We have discovered a lot—antibiotics, genetics, natural selection; however, we take for granted how much of our discoveries we do not truly understand: we still don’t understand how or why Tylenol works.

Scientists learn new things every day. We uncover new nodes of information daily that once connected to other nodes within the collective network of discoveries, they produce knowledge, expand our understanding, and clear the way for more discovery: the cycle of learning. My job as a scientist is simply to produce quality nodes—the robust, well-conceived, well-executed science. The knowledge will take care of itself.

Microbes govern the function of everything from global ecosystems to our own bodies. Although we know that unicellular eukaryotes (Protists) serve as integral components of nearly every microbial community, we don’t know exactly how their environments control the structure of their communities. The overarching question that motivates my work is how do chemical and physical conditions intersect with microbial interactions to influence the structure of protistan communities?

My work has taken me from the water column of an oceanic desert (station ALOHA, NPSG), to the dynamic environment of a so called ‘new production factory’ (Southern California Bight).

I, like all African Americans, am one link in a long and growing chain of progress and excellence. I have to pay homage to my mother and grandmother for blazing the trail into higher education. They both attended junior colleges and earned associates degrees. I am augmenting their achievements as the first in my lineage to attend a university, and complete Bachelors and Doctorate degrees.

You, dear reader, are facing climate, energy, and food related problems that will require creative scientific solutions. Big science projects are conducted by teams, and diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams in many regards. Black males are especially underrepresented in STEM. I am excited to bring my unique perspectives to my discipline, and to also use them to elevate and motivate others like me to reach their highest potential despite other fictions.

The primary purpose of this site is to share my work and knowledge with those that are curious about genomic topics and want to better understand how microbes make the world go round from the ecosystem to our own bodies.

the O l l i G I S T

The site’s name, “the Olli-gist" is taken from the suffix "-ologist", which means one who studies. It is a tribute to my general MO; approaching science and my other many interests with the same curiosity that pervades my work as a biologist.

I hope you enjoy the site.