Dr. Lee Cooper, Dr. Jacqueline Grebmeier Photo Courtesy TheBayNet.Com
MEES Reaches the North Pole on US Coast Guard Cutter
North Pole - The Baynet.com has a feature article on longtime MEES faculty members Dr. Lee Cooper (UMCES) and Dr. Jacqueline Grebmeier (UMCES) who, along with a team of five from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, this past fall 2022, joined 89 Coast Guard crew and 35 other scientists from universities and oceanographic research institutes across the nation in an arctic research cruise funded by the National Science Foundation. The article gives a wonderful summary of the two month long cruise, which was part of a Synopric Arctic Survey whose mission is to assess the present state of the Arctic Ocean and monitor the effects of climate change, specifically monitoring the extent of sea ice.
Dr. Grebmeier and Dr. Cooper, were also joined by MEES alumni Christina Goethel (Ph.D, ‘21), MEES M.S. graduate student Brian Marx (‘22, ECOL SYS), and research scientist Cedric Magen. They sampled Arctic Ocean waters and sediments at a series of pre-selected “stations” that will promote collaboration and data consistency among international stakeholders. For more information on this research, click here.
JANUARY 2023 - national biotechnology MONTH
Monthly Spotlight: National Biotechnology Month (January 2023) - What is EMST? The Environmental Molecular Science & Technology (EMST) Foundation encompasses research topics that include current molecular approaches to study biodiversity, bioremediation, food chains, discovery of drugs and enzymes from marine microbes and macoorganisms, sustainable aquaculture, biofuels, biogeochemistry of carbon cycling, and genomics/metabolomics or marine organisms. Want to know more about this unique Foundation? Check out it’s section in the MEES Core Curriculum page here.
Faculty Focus: Dr. Viktoria Volkis is a phytochemistry and material and polymer chemist by training. Dr. Volkis is an Associated Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Natural Sciences, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. A long time MEES Faculty member, Dr. Volkis has mentored many graduate students in the MEES Graduate Program. Her group works on the edge of phytochemistry and polymer science developing environmental applications. They work in antifouling protection of submerged surfaces using biocompatible polymers and extracts of plants, herbs, and algae, carbon reversible sequestration using waste of seafood industry, resin extraction of antioxidants from natural plants and their use as a natural pest control solutions. Check out Dr. Volkis’ March 2022 in depth interview on Delmarva Today, as well as her most recent published paper (August 2022) on the health benefits of a unique species of berries native to Russia entitled, “Extraction of Antioxidants from Aronia mitschurinii Juice Using Macroporous Resins”.
MEES Research Corner: Sabeena Nazar (EMST, ‘21) is a MEES Ph.D graduate student who entered the program with many accolades under her belt. Prior to entering the program, Sabeena not only earned two Master’s Degrees (Microbiology, University of Madras, India and Biotechnology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County), but also brings over twenty years of experience in Molecular Biology techniques including Sanger Sequencing, Next Generation Sequencing, and other DNA extraction methods as well as over fifteen (15) years experience in molecular biology lab services. Advised by Dr. Allen Place, Sabeena has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA, is an International Golden Key Scholar, and currently serves as a Senior Faculty Research Assistant in the BioAnalytical Services Lab (BAS) in the Institute of Marine & Environmental Technology. Sabeena entered the MEES Ph.D. program in Fall 2021 and her current research interests are in Molecular Biology Techniques and Next Generation Sequencing. Check out her May 2004 published paper in the Journal of Bacteriology entitled “Arsenic Resistance in Halobacterium sp. Strain NRC-1 Examined by Using an Improved Gene Knockout System”.