Her work involves metagenomic sampling, or extracting DNA from corals, to further the scientific community’s understanding of what makes the entire coral holobiont — a term for coral, its symbiotic algae and microbiome — survive and adapt.
French has long been intrigued by the fact that coral reefs have existed for hundreds of millions of years, surviving significant environmental disruptions and mass extinction events. Her work involves metagenomic sampling, or extracting DNA from corals, to further the scientific community’s understanding of what makes the entire coral holobiont — a term for coral, its symbiotic algae and microbiome — survive and adapt.