Mackenzie Gerringer
Mackenzie Gerringer (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor at the Whitman College. Her research centers on the physiology and ecology of deep-sea animals, including the planet’s deepest-living fishes.
Dr. Gerringer earned her Bachelors degree in Biology & German Studies from Whitman College in 2012. She earned her PhD in Marine Biology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2017 before working as a postdoctoral researcher at Friday Harbor Labs, University of Washington. As a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, she studied drivers of depth zonation in the hadal zone, depths ranging 6,000–11,000 meters, and the notable success of hadal snailfishes (family Liparidae). Before joining the Whitman faculty, Dr. Gerringer worked as an Associate Professor at the State University of New York at Geneseo.
Her research explores how fishes are adapted to life in the amazing pressures, cold temperatures, and eternal darkness of the deep-sea using comparative techniques in taxonomy, functional morphology, cellular physiology, energetics, age and growth studies, and diet analysis.
She has spent over 200 days at sea exploring the ocean’s depths with free-vehicle landers, ROVs, and submersibles. Her work has been covered by Science Magazine, National Geographic, Atlas Obscura, and a David Attenborough-narrated documentary by Japan’s national broadcasting company, NHK.
Dr. Gerringer is committed to education and science outreach, including through experience teaching as a Fulbright Fellow in Bremen, Germany and serving as an onboard scientist on NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer, narrating telepresence-enabled exploration of the deep sea. At Whitman College, she teaches Physiology, Marine Biology, and General Biology and mentors students in original research projects.
Curriculum Vitae, Mackenzie Gerringer
Lab Team
Millicent Mukoya ’28
Milly Mukoya (she/her) is a junior international student from Kenya majoring in Biology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology. She enjoys dancing, travelling, and trying out new things. Milly is passionate about infectious disease research, dentistry, and computational research. In the summer of 2026, Milly interned at Walter Reid Research Institute in Kenya, working on malaria genomic surveillance. Currently, Milly enjoys working on projects that connect biology and computer science. This Fall she is excited to work with Professor Gerringer to study how the morphology of deep-sea fishes influences their feeding. She would like to explore how computational tools can help answer questions and solve scientific problems. After Whitman, she would like to pursue a PhD in bioinformatics or go to dental school.
Annika Schwartz ’27
I began working in the lab because of my interest in fish research and my work on salmon smolts and spawning. In the summer of 2025, I worked with the Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center as a research technician on a salmon smolt sampling project. In the summer of 2026, I worked as a salmon weir field technician for Bristol Bay Science and Research Institute on the Stuyahok river. Both research positions inspired a lot of excitement about fisheries research. In the lab, I enjoy studying how anatomy relates to behavior in feeding, and how much of the deep sea research is new and still being explored. I am interested in fish morphology, and understanding ecosystems from a holistic conservation perspective. I enjoy interacting with fish both through measuring CT scans of their skulls and taking scale samples of spawning salmon. After graduating from Whitman, I plan to get a masters degree in fisheries sciences and work in fisheries management in Alaska.
Amanda Byer
Postdoctoral Fellow, Whitman College
Lab Alumni
SUNY Geneseo Lab Alumni
Jennifer Aguilera-Fonseca ’26
Angelina Batista
Stephanie Billharz ’24
Ryan Bohen ’22
Kara Burke ’21
Jake Calus ’25
Arline Camilo Hernandez ’21
Kayla Cannon ’21
Samantha Canter ’25
Julia Cappiello ’22
Kiersten Coates ’21
Rowan Considine ’26
Ledis Coronna ’25
Ashleigh Cummings ’23
Louie D’Ambro ‘27
Alice Bea Dipzinski ’20
Patrick Flannery ’21
Lydia Fregosi ’21
Nikki Fuller ’22
Franchesca Gonzales ’21
Madeline Kinsella ’23
Chloe Kirgan ’27
Martin Hernandez ’29
Yumna Ismail ’21
Emily McMahon ’23
Griffin Meyer ’24
Allison North ’23
Griffin Palen ’28
Jessica Palmeri ’21
Erin Patton ’22
AJ Petty ’23
Taylor Oleyourryk ’21
Annie Rieman ’28
Gabriel Rosado ’22
Tristin Rose-Morley ’24
Abisage Sekarore ’24
Samantha Shepard ’23
Zebulun Soper ’26
Emily Spina ’24
Sarah Suplicz ’23
Omar Suri ‘20
Chryssanthi Tzetzis ’23
Brett Woodworth ’22
Emily Wynne ’25