Broadly, Dawson is interested in integrating a “systems thinking” approach towards using and developing quantitative methods to describe, understand, and predict reciprocal environmental and biological change. With a focus on biological oceanography and aquatic ecology, Dawson is interested in applying a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives to understand the eco-evolutionary interactions driving complex microbial and viral-mediated metabolic transformations impacting global biogeochemical cycles. In the Arctic, Dawson hopes to better understand the impact of microbes and their viruses on grand challenges such as climate resilience, adaptation, and food security, as well as include microbes into Earth System models at higher resolutions.