TITLE: Master’s student
ACADEMIC INSTITUTION: College of Marine and Earth Studies, University of Delaware

 

What is your role in Extreme 2008?
I am going to culture (grow) the bacteria found at the hydrothermal vents and associated with the tube worm Alvinella.

I am also assisting with the chemical analyses of the water sample from the vents. The data from these samples will be used by all the scientist performing experiments on the cruise. I will be using culture media with different chemical concentrations and kept at varying temperatures to determine what conditions work best for growing the bacteria.

How will you go about your work in the lab aboard Atlantis?
I will be using culture media with different chemical concentrations and kept at varying temperatures to determine what conditions work best for growing the bacteria.          

What questions are you trying to answer and why?
This work will help us understand more about what bacteria are present at the vents and what the require to live.

Why is this research important? What are the benefits?
Hopefully this information can help scientists to understand more fully what these bacteria are doing and how they fit into the bigger ecosystem picture.

What's your background, and what lured you into marine science/education?
I have a B.A. from Clark University (Worcester, Massachusetts), where I studied biology with a concentration in ecology and evolution.  While at Clark,I took many courses in the field of marine microbiology.  During such courses, I learned about hydrothermal vents and became intrigued by the diverse ecological assemblages that inhabit them. I currently am a master’s student at the University of Delaware working with Dr. Barbara Campbell on pathogenic bacteria that cause foodborne illness.