Patrick Martone

Dr. Patrick Martone is a Professor in the Department of Botany at the University of British Columbia (UBC), affiliated with the Biodiversity Research Centre and the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. He specializes in phycology, focusing on the biodiversity, ecophysiology, and evolution of seaweeds. His research integrates field and lab experiments across scales of biological organization, from community dynamics to cellular development. He has held academic ranks at UBC since 2008, progressing from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor (2013) and full Professor (2019).

Education: PhD in Botany from Stanford University (2007), BS in Biology from Duke University (1998). Postdoctoral research at Stanford University (2007–2008).

• Research Focus: Seaweed biomechanics, climate change impacts, calcification mechanisms, and evolutionary genomics.
• Key Projects: Investigating hydrodynamic performance of seaweeds, genomic analyses of cell wall biosynthesis, and kelp restoration protocols.

His lab hosts a diverse team of graduate students and postdocs, with alumni contributing to academic and applied fields. He teaches courses such as BIOL320 (Survey of the Algae) and MRNE425 (Ecological Adaptations of Seaweeds).

Lab activities include state-of-the-art facilities for water flume testing, PAM fluorometry, and genetic sequencing. Current work explores climate stress effects on coralline algae and kelp phenotypic plasticity.