Dr. Holly Bik is a deep-sea biologist who studies a variety of questions about microscopic species (worms, bacteria) living in ocean mud. She currently holds the position of Assistant Professor in Marine Sciences at the University of Georgia, where she also maintains a joint appointment with the UGA Institute of Bioinformatics. Throughout her career, she has focused on research topics encompassing evolutionary biology, benthic marine ecology, host-associated microbiomes, genomics, and data visualization. Alongside her academic research, she is an active science communicator who uses digital media platforms and popular science writing to disseminate her work to diverse audiences. You can find her on Twitter @hollybik.