About the Artist

Olivia Burleigh is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Weis Lab in the Department of Integrative Biology at Oregon State University. She is largely interested in understanding the cellular mechanisms driving the complex symbiotic relationship between corals and algae. Her research focuses on the role of the host immune system in regulating symbiosis establishment and coral bleaching using the model sea anemone Aiptasia.

Before coming to OSU, she earned her B.S. degree in Biology from Creighton University with minors in Studio Art and Environmental Sciences. She has been making functional pottery for about five years and through this fellowship, has made her first ceramics sculptures. For the last year, she has been a PRAx Interdisciplinary Student Fellow on the Art-Science Track. The goal of her fellowship project was to communicate the importance of her research through a visual medium. When she is not in the studio or laboratory, she likes to spend her time hiking, tide pooling, scuba diving, skiing, camping, or rock climbing. She has always loved identifying marine organisms and wanted to integrate this hobby into her art pieces through this fellowship.