Groton —
J. Evan Ward, associate professor of marine
sciences at the University of Connecticut's Avery
Point campus, has been chosen as one of the
recipients of a $500,000 grant from the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to train
graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in a
rapidly emerging field, oceans and human health.
Ward and UConn are one of four recipients of
the grant nationwide, according to an announcement
from UConn this week.
The grant will support training for doctoral
and post-doctoral researchers in oceanography and
marine biology, and also give them specific
training in three areas that represent critical
problems in the coastal zone: harmful algal
blooms, marine diseases and pathogens, and
emerging pollutants, such as nanoparticles.
These can harm fish, shellfish and marine
mammals, and, in turn, human populations that
depend on them for food, revenue and employment.
“We've been recognized as a program to train
future scientists, and that will open doors,” Ward
said.
The UConn program will be run in collaboration
with Mystic Aquarium and the National Marine
Fisheries Service. Participating partners in the
grant include four UConn centers and seven
departments: Connecticut Sea Grant and the
National Undersea Research Center, two programs at
UConn that are supported by NOAA, and the New
England Aquarium in Boston.
Co-principal investigators include Hans Dam,
professor of marine sciences; Sylvain De Guise,
associate professor of pathobiology and director
of Connecticut Sea Grant; Salvatore Frasca,
associate professor of pathobiology; Tracy Romano
of the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for
Exploration; and Gary Wikfors of the National
Marine Fisheries Service in Milford.
“The network we are establishing involves
scientists with expertise in such topics as
molecular biology, shellfish physiology and
ecology, immunology, fish ecology, environmental
science, physical oceanography, and marine-mammal
biology,” Ward said.
The program also covers public awareness and
outreach, public health, and environmental health.
It will allow an exchange of ideas and research
among scientists who often do not have the
opportunity to collaborate, he said.
The training will be offered to doctorate-level
graduate students and postdoctoral fellows
starting in the spring.
Other universities receiving the grants are the
University of Georgia, the University of
Washington and the University of California,
Davis.