Our lab group, based in the Biology Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is an interdisciplinary research team that combines biology, physics, and engineering to investigate marine animals, with a particular focus on animal navigation and sensory biology. Topics of current interest include:

• how sea turtles, salmon, and other marine animals use Earth’s magnetic field in long-distance navigation
• the neurobiological mechanisms underlying magnetic field detection
• geomagnetic imprinting and natal homing in sea turtles and salmon
• epigenetics in animal migration and navigation
• how sea turtle hatchlings detect ocean wave direction while swimming under water
• sensory ecology and movement ecology
• machine learning and computational approaches

Techniques used range from electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, electrophysiology, and transcriptomics to behavioral studies in the ocean, simulations and modeling, and remote sensing. Whenever possible, we favor innovative approaches that cut across traditional academic boundaries and combine elements from disparate fields.

Last edited 08.19.2026