Please welcome Dr. Nick Christodoulides to the Whitney Laboratory!
Nick Christodoulides is a postdoctoral researcher and bioinformatician from Orlando, Florida. He began his academic path in Biology at the University of Florida, where a senior-year Python course sparked his interest in bioinformatics. He pursued this interest with a Master’s in Entomology at Auburn University, learning to work with high-performance computing systems and transcriptomics data in non-model insects. Nick completed his PhD at the University of Central Florida under Dr. Anna Savage, focusing on transcriptomics of diversification, phenotypic plasticity, and disease response in non-model amphibians. After graduating in 2024, he joined Carnegie Mellon University as the lead bioinformatician for EchinoBase under Dr. Veronica Hinman, who is now the director of the Whitney Laboratory. Following Dr. Hinman’s move, Nick has returned to his home state and the University of Florida as a postdoc, continuing his work on echinoderm genomics. Nick is now focused on developing pipelines to improve orthology and expression analyses across echinoderm species, while broadening his skillset through experimental work in marine invertebrates. Outside of research, Nick trains in Muay Thai and other martial arts, cares for his pets, and hopes to learn fishing.