Welcome to the Medina Lab
About Us
After many years at the Pennsylvania State University, the Medina Lab has relocated to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Fall 2025. We are interested in the ecology and evolution of host-microbe interactions, with an emphasis on cnidarian systems. We use different tools ranging from genomics, developmental and cell biology and organismal physiology.
Please contact Mónica if you are interested in joining the lab.
Recent News!
Support Amazonian and Caribbean Indigenous Communities Through Music and Nature
Help Us Make a Difference!
We are excited to share the premiere of our music video for “La Extinción” by Pernett, featuring the incredible stories and daily lives of the Waorani, Nasa, and Kogui communities from the Colombian Sierra Nevada and the Ecuadorian and Colombian Amazon regions. These communities have graciously opened their hearts and homes to us by sharing their vital connection to nature and their efforts to protect it.
COP16
Mónica at COP16 in Cali, Colombia: Advancing Global Biodiversity Conservation
Mónica at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, an event focused on the state of global biodiversity where she shared her research but also hosted some outreach events, such as a special screening of the documentary Saving Atlantis, which underscores the urgent need to protect coral reefs and marine ecosystems. Another event brought together artists, scientists and indigenous leaders fostering creativity and collaboration for greater environmental awareness and action.
Eco-Evo-Devo Drivers of Microbial Assemblage Dynamics in Tropical Marine Holobionts
Mónica talked at the Applied Hologenomics Conference 2024 in Copenhagen.
Beneficial Microbes Meeting
Mónica gave the keynote a Beneficial Microbes in Madison, WI 2024.
Life, the Holobiont and Everything – a symbiotic dialogue with Profs Mónica Medina and Thomas Bosch.
Associate Professor Antton Alberdi moderates a discussion between Mónica and Professor Thomas Bosch from Kiel Life Science Center. The Symbiotic dialogue took place during the Applied Hologenomics Conference 2024 in Copehagen.
Mónica Receives Eminence in Research Award 2024 by The International Coral Reef Society ICRS
In recognition of a scientist for an outstanding body of research performed over an extended period of time more than 20 years post PhD.
The Varadero Reef
The Varadero Reef is one of the most beautiful and enigmatic reefs we know about. Located in Cartagena Bay in Colombia and has been exposed to a myriad of sediments and contaminants due to its proximity to the Magdalena River estuary.
-
Newslink
” Part of my research deals with the use of genomic approaches to study life history of corals and how they are coping with climate change. My lab also studies the evolution of biomineralization in animals as an theoretical model to understand the challenges with character homology over large evolutionary scales.”