IMaGeS FIU

The Integrative Marine Genomics of Symbiosis (IMaGeS) Lab, located at Florida International University and headed by Dr. Mauricio Rodreguiez-Lanetty, studies the intricacies of Coral Reefs. This is done via fieldwork, computational analysis, and wet lab work. In the field, IMaGeS lab works within the 3rd largest Reef zone in the world, the Florida Keys. Several projects have been conducted on the reef ecosystems in our local community, however, the main work we conduct is done at FIU's Aquarius Reef Base. Aquarius is the World's only dedicated underwater research facility, where all marine researchers can get together and perform long-duration underwater research. Aquarius is located at Conch Reef, 8.7 kilometers off the coast of Key Largo, and 19 meters below the surface of the water. The IMaGeS lab has worked with NASA in the facility on project NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operation) XXII, where astronauts conducted saturation dive-based underwater research on behalf of the lab. We also currently have past and present members of our lab working within the base of operations in Key Largo. In addition to Aquarius, the IMaGeS lab Graduate students travel the world to locations such as French Polynesia and the Great Barrier Reef to conduct their work On the side of computational biology, researchers within the lab work on coding projects, protein structure imaging, high power computing (HPC) units, and digital twins on reef systems. The current direction of our computational work focuses on alpha-fold protein structure imagining. Our wet lab work, we have a wide range of facilities and tools at our disposal. Our work focuses on the genetics, holo-biome, microbiology, cell biology, biochemistry, and coral microcosm of coral reef systems. We operate with the equipment of any fully stocked cell biology lab, along with hosting facilities specifically designed for reef-based research. This includes a rearing room for our model Exaiptasia Diaphana.