Marine Biological Laboratory Announces First MBL Fellows

Nine faculty members from institutions around the country have been appointed to the new position of MBL Fellow at the Marine Biological Laboratory.

MBL Fellows come to Woods Hole to pursue collaborative research on key topics related to the MBL’s strategic plan.  Each Fellow holds a primary appointment at another U.S. or global institution while also carrying out significant, ongoing research and educational commitments throughout the year at the MBL.

In announcing the appointments, MBL President and Director Huntington Willard added, “Since its founding, a singular feature of the MBL has been its convening power, attracting the world’s most accomplished scientists to Woods Hole to carry out some of their most creative and far-reaching work.  Establishing an active and committed Fellows program will be a key mechanism for realizing the MBL’s power to bring together scientists to tackle big, complex problems, especially in the context of marine biodiversity, the oceans, and our changing environment.”

Drawing from the rich scientific community of thousands of researchers who assemble each year at MBL, Fellows will engage colleagues in transformative research or training, attract new investigators and students to Woods Hole, and help to advance both projects and careers.

As part of their investigations, Fellows may initiate new MBL research collaborations, educational programs, or workshops and conferences to drive MBL research and educational goals forward into a new era of biological discovery.

The inaugural MBL Fellows are:

Maureen Conte Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences
Ocean biogeochemistry

 

Jack Gilbert University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory
Microbial ecology and metagenomics

 

Melina Hale University of Chicago
Evolution and organization of neural circuits and systems that drive movement

 

Patrick LaRivière University of Chicago Computational imaging

 

Jane Maienschein Arizona State University History and philosophy of science

Clifton Ragsdale University of Chicago Cephalopod genomics; evolution of brain organization and development

 

Loretta Roberson University of Puerto Rico Coastal ecosystems ecology

 

Joshua Rosenthal University of Puerto Rico Cephalopod genomics and transcriptomics; neuroenvironment

 

Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado Stowers Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Embryology; regeneration; development of novel model systems