Emily Paris

Emily graduated from UC San Diego in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry & Cell Biology/minor Marine Science. Her research in the Moore Lab at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography included developing a technique for growing bacteria from marine sponges to aid in pharmaceutical development.  

Emily is now a PhD student studying microbial ecology at Stanford University. Fascinated by life in in extreme environments, her research in the Dekas Lab focuses on biological carbon cycling in the deep sea and microbial adaptation to hypersaline environments. She is also a student with Oceans Across Space and Time, which is a NASA-funded collaboration to search for traces of microbial life on other planets.  

As a college junior, she was an instructor for UC San Diego’s Sally Ride Science “Library NExT” program, teaching free workshops on the human genome and space science. Additionally, she volunteered with the Walter Munk Foundation for the Oceans while at UC San Diego, helping introduce San Diego youth to marine science.  

In 2019, Emily joined the all-female Sedna Epic Expedition to Tromsø, Norway where she participated in a women’s leadership workshop, collected data for whale bioacoustics research, and learned about Sámi and Inuit cultural traditions. 

Outside of the lab, Emily enjoys running, dancing, and scuba diving.