Biological Oceanography Lab

Dr. Sarah Smith joins SJSU/MLML faculty as new biological oceanographer

Lauren Cooley

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Sarah Smith has joined the faculty at SJSU/MLML as our new biological oceanographer! 

Dr. Smith received her MS in Marine Science from SJSU/MLML in 2009 and her PhD in Marine Biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 2014. Before joining the faculty at MLML, Dr. Smith served as a post-doc, staff scientist, and assistant professor at the J. Craig Venter Institute. Her current research uses a combination of comparative and functional genomics approaches to explore the evolution and molecular mechanisms of physiological regulation in diatoms. Insights from these studies will be used to inform our understanding of the evolution of diatoms and to guide efforts to bioengineer algae as a feedstock for aquaculture and for the cultivation of renewable bioproducts, such as sustainable biofuels.

Dr. Smith will be taking over the MLML Biological Oceanography Lab from her former graduate advisor Dr. Nick Welschmeyer who retired in 2020. Welcome, Sarah!

MLML and SJSU Seeking Biological Oceanographer

Mina Sattari

Join our team!

Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) and San José State University (SJSU) are seeking a field- and process-oriented biological oceanographer to complement an interdisciplinary group of marine scientists. The ideal candidate will conduct research at sea, possess expertise in molecular techniques, bioinformatics, or big data, and conduct research in one or more of the following areas: primary and export production, microbial ecology, food web dynamics, ecosystem processes, physiology, climate change, or harmful algal blooms. The successful applicant must have a strong commitment to quality instruction and pursue a vigorous research program involving MS students. A Ph.D. is required and prior post-doctoral experience is encouraged. Applicant materials should demonstrate an awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a multicultural population as might have been gained through cross-cultural study, teaching, training, and other comparable experiences.

 

Thesis Defense by Natalie Yingling – July 20th, 2018

Kimberly Elson

ATP as a Quantitative Proxy for Living Microbial Biomass: Cellular ATP Content Under Stress

A Thesis Defense by Natalie Yingling

Biological Oceanography Lab

Friday, July 20th, 2018 at 4pm

MLML Seminar Room

Natalie Yingling is a Master’s student under the guidance of Dr. Nick Welschmeyer in the Biological Oceanography lab. She started at MLML in Fall 2015 after earning her B.S. degree in Marine Science with a concentration in biological oceanography from North Carolina State University in Spring 2015. During her time at MLML she has participated in various research cruises, worked as a research assistant for Dr. Welschmeyer as part of the ballast water testing team that works in conjunction with Cal Maritime, was vice president of MLML in 2016 and has participated every year in MLML’s annual open house. In Fall 2018 she will be starting a Ph.D. program at Florida State University in the department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science. Her thesis focuses on implementing measurements of adenosine triphosphate as a proxy of microbial biomass in stressed and dying cells.

MLML’s Dr. Colleen Durkin is co-PI for upcoming NASA Earth EXPORTS project

Kimberly Elson

For the upcoming NASA Earth EXPORTS field program, MLML's Dr. Colleen Durkin, will serve as one of the co-PIs on a project that aims to link sinking particle chemistry and biology with changes in the magnitude and efficiency of carbon export into the deep ocean. The group will use sediment traps to collect samples at varied depths of descent up to 500m.

You can read more about the project here and here.

MLML Welcomes International Scholar, Dr. Patricia Eichler!

Kimberly Elson

MLML welcomes Dr. Patricia Eichler who will be working out of Ivano Aiello's Lab as an International Scholar until March 2019.

Dr. Patricia Eichler is Biological Oceanographer interested on the assessment of coastal and marine environments through the use of marine benthic Foraminifera, physical and geo-chemical datasets. More recently, she has been focusing on the use of stable isotopes for micropaleontology studies and paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Her skills and expertise focus in the Environment, Water Quality, Ecology and Evolution, Ecosystem Ecology, Marine Ecology, Sedimentology, Biodiversity, and Conservation of Marine Environment and Marine Biodiversity. She is a Professor at the Environmental Sciences Post Graduation Program at Sul de Santa Catarina University (Unisul) and at the Geodynamic and Geophysics and Geophysics Post Graduation Program in the Federal do Rio Grande do Norte University.

Welcome to MLML, Dr. Eichler!