Carolina Lazari, Ph.D

Mentor: Carolina Lazari, Ph.D.

Affiliation: Charles E. Schmidt College of Science ECOS

Carolina Lazari is a postdoctoral fellow in the Vollmer Lab at Florida Atlantic University with a background in marine biology, genomics and the study of adaptation in aquatic organisms.

A native of Argentina, she earned a bachelor's degree in marine biology from the Universidad Nacional del Comahue, where she developed an interest in aquatic ecosystems and the evolutionary processes shaping their biodiversity. She later moved to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar to pursue a doctorate in ocean sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She conducted her doctoral research in the Molecular Ecology and Genetic Analysis Laboratory at NOAA Fisheries under the mentorship of John Carlos Garza.

Her dissertation used population genomic approaches to investigate local adaptation in introduced rainbow trout and Chinook salmon populations in Argentina and New Zealand. Through this work, she explored how demographic history, standing genetic variation and natural selection contribute to rapid evolutionary change following introductions into new environments.

At Florida Atlantic University, Lazari continues to apply genomic and bioinformatic approaches to questions in aquatic and marine biology. She is broadly interested in understanding how aquatic organisms respond and adapt to changing environments and in applying genomic tools to research relevant to the conservation and management of aquatic species and ecosystems.