Dr. Bridget Chalifour
Genomics Scientist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Ph.D., University of Colorado – Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
B.S., University of Florida
Date: October 18th
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Location: Denver Campus – North Classroom, Room 1604
Dr. Bridget Chalifour is the Genomics Scientist at DMNS. She grew up in Orlando, Florida and developed a passion for ecology by exploring tide pools and salt marshes on the East Coast. She completed her B.S. in Environmental Science at the University of Florida in 2017 and earned her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2022. She is a microbial ecologist who studies environmental changes and their effects on microbiomes in both human and animal hosts. Her dissertation research used a combination of preserved museum specimens and wild-caught snails to understand how factors like life stage, time in preservation, human disturbance, and geographic location impact the diversity and composition of the gut microbiomes of Rocky Mountain snails. Her postdoctoral research studied relationships between environmental exposures like air pollution, PFAS levels, changes in weight, and feeding patterns, and 'omics measures, including metagenomic and metabolomic data in human populations. Now, Bridget conducts research leveraging ‘omics technology across human and non-human systems utilizing DMNS’ extensive collection of DNA, frozen tissues, and specimens.