Sarah Brown

Sarah Brown joined the David Lab as a postdoctoral fellow in early 2026 after completing an ORISE postdoctoral fellowship based at the EPA's Office of Research and Development. In this role, they developed and validated protocols for eDNA extraction and amplicon sequencing, using the latter to detect and identify bacterial pathogens and invasive animal species in environmental water samples. Sarah has also previously worked as a postdoctoral research associate at UNC-Chapel Hill. They hold a PhD in Ecology from UNC-Chapel Hill and a BS in Environmental Science from George Mason University. At the David Lab, they’ll continue their research in molecular ecology with a focus on analyzing dietary patterns from water sources while also collaborating with the Durham Community Wastewater Project team. In their spare time, Sarah enjoys bouldering, gardening, and pottery-making.