Current Research
Mentor: Jennifer Dionne, PhD
Halleh Balch is a physicist pioneering new technologies deployed on autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to study oceanic microorganisms and their impact on climate and human health. By developing methods for use on board AUVs to measure metabolites and the genes that encode for them, Balch aims to link gene expression and metabolic function with environmental drivers like temperature, nutrients, and acidity. Balch hopes this work will uncover new catalysts, useful therapeutics, and pathways to greater climate resilience.