Hi, I'm Tori Cassady, a 6th year PhD candidate in geobiology at USC working with Dr. Frank Corsetti. I am also in residence at the NHMLA in Dr. Aaron Celestian's minerals lab.
 
Currently, you can find me writing my dissertation. I'm always looking for exciting opportunities for collaboration. If you'd like to get in contact, please email me at vcassady@usc.edu.  

My research interests include:
-High (micron scale) resolution textural reconstruction in 2&3D of biogenic minerals and structures, including many microbialites, highly fragile partially lithified samples, and modern structures which can serve as fossil record analogues.
-Textural, mineralogical, isotopic, and geochemical transformation of microbial carbonates from origin, through lithification, diagenesis, and metamorphism over 3.5 billion years.
         -Quantifying the resilience of chemical and textural biosignatures to diagenesis and metamorphism.
-Using isotope spike experiments to trace microbe/mineral interactions.
-Carbonate aqueous and mineral chemistry in fresh and marine environments.
-The fate of buried organic matter over geologic timescales.
-Using mineralogy to answer paleontology questions.
-The ecological significance of microbialites as reef builders over Phanerozoic mass extinction intervals.
-Microbial interaction with calcium minerals in metazoans including humans.