An emergent area of interest for the Symbiodinium lab is understanding immunity and disease from the perspective of the coral holobiont (aka the host, microbiome, and algal symbiont). We are particularly interested in how interactions between each member of the holobiont contributes to host immunity and defense; and how pathogens interact with this partner network to produce disease. We are considering these interactions primarily using the emerging coral model species, Astrangia pocculata, a temperate coral that is facultatively symbiotic and ranges from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico. Other related projects include considering how holobiont interactions might contribute to disease resistance of corals at Texas’s own Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, and investigations of how variation in host-symbiont partnerships affects immunity. This work is supported by an NSF BRC-BIO to LEF.