Research Team

The Research Team for the Marine Atlantic Pollutants Expedition

Erika (Raymond) Montague, PhD
Chief Scientist
Role on Cruise: Organize cruise logistics, Diveristy of Larval Fishes
Research interests: Her research interests involve the development of novel non-destructive methods for the sampling and observation of sensitive species in extreme and remote environments. She has been part of numerous oceanographic expeditions and has conducted research out of Hopkins Marine Station, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, and Ocean Research & Conservation Association. Most recently Dr. Montague has been working on an autonomous tissue sampler for collection of DNA from deep-sea fishes.

Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, PhD
Co-Principal Investigator
Role on Cruise: Diversity of Larval Fishes, land-based support
Research Interests: Her work addresses where larval fishes are found in the plankton, where they end up, which larvae survive to become juveniles, and how that information can be used to design effective marine reserves and other types of marine protected areas.

Andrea Neal, PhD
Co-Principal Investigator
Role on Cruise: Biofilm studies
Research Interests: Dr. Neal has a PhD in Molecular Genetics and Lipid Biochemistry and over 13 years of experience in management of large-scale international projects, environmental campaigns, and scientific research.  She is also the Science Advisor for Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society, as well as the Principal Investigator for Project Kaisei.

Dr. James G. Ferry, PhD
Microbial Biologist
Role on Cruise: Anaerobic Microbes. Dr.Ferry's role on the Atlantic Marine Pollutants Expedition was to characterize microbes from biofilms established on the surface of plastic remnants collected from surface waters. The overall objective was to identify major anaerobic species with novel metabolic capabilities applicable to bioremediation of toxic waste sites and production of biofuels from waste materials.
Research Interests: His research interests are in the areas of enzymology, molecular biology, physiology and ecology of anaerobic microbes from the domain Archaea with a focus on methane-producing species.

Michael Gonsior, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
Role on Cruise: Dissolved Organic Matter
Research Interests: Dr. Gonsior is a marine biogeochemist looking at the chemical diversity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in marine systems. He has extensive experience with sampling and analyzing the complexity of DOM, the most dynamic component of the global carbon cycle. He recently participated in five major scientific cruises into the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is always looking for opportunities to extend the knowledge of marine DOM analyzed by state-of-the-art analytical technology.

Greg Wanger, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
Role on Cruise: Electrogenic Bacterial Overview
Research Interests: His dissertation research focused on the microbes living in the ultra deep subsurface. To find these microbes, Dr. Wanger spent three months living in South Africa where he worked at the bottom of the deepest mines in the world. Currently he is working as a postdoc in the Electromicrobiology Group at the J. Craig Venter Institute where his research is focused on Microbial fuel cells.

Randall E. Mielke, MS, MS
Researcher
Role on Cruise: Biofilms
Research Interests: Randall specializes in imaging, analyzing and interpreting how life can survive in extreme environments and what possible biomarkers are left behind from ancient life forms. He uses electron microscopy (STEM, ESEM-EDAX), geology (XRD), chemistry (ICP-OES, GCMS-FID, IRMS), and biological (culturing microorganism) techniques to aid in the understanding of environmental samples.

Heather Coleman
Researcher
Role on Cruise: Assistance with collections and sorting

Robert Schlegel, PhD
Microbiologist, Professor Emeritus
Role on Cruise: Assistance with microbial work

Christina Stam, PhD
Researcher
Role on Cruise: Molecular ID of Biofilms
Research Interests: Dr. Stam specializes in discerning live and dead microorganisms using various DNA intercalating agents. She focuses on detecting life in extreme environments: Martian analogue environments, high altitudes, and Hydrothermal vents.

Jay L. Nadeau, PhD
Researcher
Role on Cruise: Studying Microbial Motion with Holographic Microscopy
Research Interests: Her research interests include nanoparticles, fluorescence imaging, and development of instrumentation for detection of life elsewhere in the solar system. Her group was the first to label bacteria with quantum dots, and to explore the possibility of using fluorescent labels as tools for detection of traces of extraterrestrial life.
 

Scott Walker
Videographer
Role on Cruise: Outreach
Research Interests: Scott provided a cinematic portrayal of scientific discoveries that gives insight into how plastic interacts with marine environments.