Allyson is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Integrated Coastal Sciences Programat East Carolina University. With a background in maritime history and underwater archaeology, she is a Divemaster and AAUS Scientific Diver and has worked on submerged archaeological sites worldwide. Allyson’s dissertation aims to integrate archaeological, microbialecological, hydrological, and geospatial approaches to construct and evaluate the relationships between wooden shipwreck stability, microbial community composition, and local hydrological conditions. Through this research, she hopes to illuminate the connectivity between these different factors to better inform wooden shipwreck preservation and provide a holistic approach to underwater resource management.