Nic Blouin

Broadly my interests relate to the evolution of reproductive strategies and how these adaptations function to provide mechanisms for organisms to persist in the extreme environment of the intertidal zone. I am currently focusing on the red algal parasitic life-style and how reproductive adaptation in closely related species allows for persistence of parasitic associations between closely related taxa. My research experience/interests involve genome assembly, structural and functional annotation, transcriptomic studies, Microbiome analysis (Qiime, Mothur, Nephele), as well as GLD (gain, loss, duplication) analysis at the gene family level across multiple genomes.

Partly from my experience of being self-taught, I have a strong interest in the training of organismal biologists in the use of computational tools to improve data handing and analysis. As part of my interest in improving computational literacy for end users, I recently joined the organizing committee for the Marine Ecological and Marine Genomics (MEEG) summer course held in Roscoff, France and occasionally hold workshops with a colleague at NIH to improve basic computer literacy.