ABOUT

My name is Nia Symone Walker, and I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Coral Resilience Lab at the University of Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology I received my Ph.D. in Biology from Stanford University, under the mentorship of Dr. Stephen Palumbi, and my B.A. from Harvard College.

I am a molecular ecologist interested in better understanding how organisms function under normal and high stress conditions. I primarily conduct research on reef-building coral stress resilience. I use genomics, genetics, ecological, and physiological techniques to investigate coral stress resilience. In particular, I aim to break down stress resilience into relative components (e.g., resistance vs. recovery ability) and under different timescales (e.g., short term vs. long term, seasonal variation, and across life stages) and conditions (e.g., types of stress and environmental gradients).

As a black woman in STEM, I am committed furthering access to higher education and all levels of academia for individuals from diverse and underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds. Academia and knowledge should be accessible to all whom have the curiosity to explore them. Beyond this, the only prerequisite to pursuing anything should be an interest in getting started. 

*I am also a dog mom to an adorable (and anxious) chiweenie named Dobby, and a cat mom to quirky and cuddly Siberan named Athena. I also write poetry and prose, draw and paint, play the violin (in the past with the Palo Alto Philharmonic), and enjoy hiking and baking.