Gracie presented her research at the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium in November 2020 and at the N.C. Academy of Science annual meeting in March. She will also present her research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research April 14, 2021. 

The focus of Gracie’s research is a recently discovered coral disease, Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease. This disease affects the barrier-building coral species found around Southern Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. She is specifically focusing on the corals around the TCI — home to the largest barrier reef in the Atlantic Ocean.

Since SCTLD first appeared in the TCI in 2019, the TCI's Department of Environmental and Coastal Resources (DECR) and the nonprofit organization Turks and Caicos Reef Fund (TCReef Fund), have been working to monitor the disease's progression around several islands. TCReef Fund works to protect the coral reefs and educate tourists and locals about the importance of the coral reefs to the region.

Gracie is conducting surveys over two large rural islands, North and Middle Caicos, which had not previously been surveyed. Her surveys of these reefs reports the overall species type and number of each species, in addition to the number of those species infected or dead. This research will be a part of Gracie's departmental thesis in biology mentored by Guilford College Professor of Biology Melanie Lee-Brown. Her research data has already been shared with the TCReef Fund, DECR, and at international meetings on reef health and conservation.

Gracie’s research findings have also been posted on the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment SCTLD tracking maps. Gracie will be continuing her work with the TCReef Fund after graduation as an intern, while applying to Ph.D. programs to continue this valuable work as a graduate student.

To learn more about the Guilford College Biology major, schedule your personalized visit to campus.