Hi! I am Feresa, an evolutionary biologist investigating the molecular and cellular innovations that enable biological systems to persist, adapt, and diversify.

I received my PhD at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the Algal Biodiversity Lab (Sherwood Lab), where I studied how algae diversify and adapt across steep ecological gradients, from shallow  to the mesophotic ecosystems. Using comparative genomics, I focused on signatures of adaptation, including organelle evolution and the role of repetitive elements, such as introns, in genome expansion.
 

The ability to regenerate damaged or lost tissues varies dramatically across animals and developmental stages. While many cnidarians, including jellyfish, retain remarkable regenerative capacity, regeneration in mammals especially within the central nervous system is severely limited.  This project uses the moon jellyfish Aurelia labiata to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neural regeneration in the rhopalial nervous system. By comparing developmental and regenerative processes in this early-diverging animal lineage, the work aims to identify injury responses that are evolutionarily conserved across animals as well as mechanisms unique to highly regenerative systems. Understanding these shared and lineage-specific pathways may help explain why regeneration is restricted in the mammalian nervous system and reveal candidate processes relevant to improving tissue repair.

Invasive marine species can rapidly reshape ecosystems, yet the evolutionary and genomic mechanisms that enable some organisms to spread and persist across new environments remain poorly understood. The upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea is a globally distributed and frequently invasive cnidarian that combines rapid regeneration with obligate algal symbiosis, traits that contribute to its ecological success.  This project uses phylogenetics and population genomics to investigate how different Cassiopea lineages diversify, spread, and adapt across global and local scales. By resolving phylogenetic relationships and applying fine-scale genomic tools to track populations, the work aims to establish Cassiopea as a genetically trackable jellyfish model for invasion biology and marine conservation. Understanding the mechanisms that allow these bloom-forming animals to regenerate, maintain symbiosis, and thrive in novel environments may reveal pathways that support resilience in other symbiotic systems, including reef-building corals facing climate-driven decline.

The ocean’s mesophotic zone is a largely unexplored frontier, rich in undescribed species and genomic diversity. Focusing on algal systems (Phylum Rhodophyta), this project combines biodiversity discovery with comparative organellar genomics to reveal how ecological gradients shape evolutionary outcomes, with many discoveries already published and several more in preparation. This work reflects my ongoing fascination with the evolutionary innovations that ancient eukaryotes reveal from algae to cnidarians!