Despite growing up in Ohio, Dr. Nicole Fogarty was driven to become a marine biologist since age 10. At age 14 she became a certified scuba diver and saw her first coral reef; it was love at first sight.

During her undergraduate career, Dr. Fogarty studied marine biology at the Bermuda Biological Station, the Bahamas Field Station in San Salvador, and at Duke University’s Beaufort Marine Laboratory.

Dr. Fogarty completed her PhD at Florida State University in Dr. Don Levitan’s lab in 2010.  Her dissertation focused on understanding how Caribbean acroporid hybrids are formed, and why they might be increasing in abundance. After receiving her PhD Dr. Fogarty began a Marine Science Network Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce, Florida. Under the guidance of Drs. Val Paul and Nancy Knowlton, she examined the chemical cue involved in coral spawning synchrony. In July 2012, Dr. Fogarty was hired by Nova Southeastern University as an assistant professor.

For nearly two decades, Dr. Fogarty has been studying how corals can naturally replenish reefs through successful sexual reproduction.  Her laboratory uses a multidisciplinary approach of fieldwork, laboratory experiments, and molecular biology to answer ecological and evolutionary questions related to coral reef ecology.