Dr. Christina Preston, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Moss Landing Marine Labs Seminar series - November 30th, 2017
Hosted by the Environmental Biotechnology Lab
MLML Seminar Room, 4pm
Open to the public
Chris Preston received her undergraduate degree at James Madison University, PhD at UC Santa Barbara with Ed Delong, and was a Post Doc at Hopkins Marine Station with Dave Epel. Her early work was mainly describing symbiotic associations between marine invertebrates and bacteria/archaea. Since joining MBARI over 15 years ago, her focus has shifted more towards studying microbial populations (free-living & particle attached) throughout the water column using in situ instrumentation.
Revealing the microscopic using underwater robotic sensors
One of the long-standing challenges common to studying microorganisms in the environment is acquiring and processing samples. Traditionally, this has involved shipboard sample collection and laboratory-based analysis. New in situ sensors combine novel engineering and molecular biological methods and can function underwater longer than the length of research cruises. This allows scientists to monitor and experiment within the environment in a whole new way. In this talk, I’ll discuss how the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) developed by MBARI can address the challenge of sample collection and processing over an extended period under non-traditional laboratory conditions, and its capability to support a variety of downstream molecular detection systems. I’ll focus on lessons learned from the operation of our 2nd generation ESP, and how that has impacted development of our 3rd generation instrument.