NCMA and Center for Algal Innovations (CAI) STAFF
Dr. Mike Lomas, Director. Dr. Lomas was appointed as Director of the Provasoli-Guillard National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (NCMA) in January 2014. Lomas, a phytoplankton physiological ecologist, became a Senior Research Scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in the fall of 2012. Prior to his move north he conducted research at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (formerly Bermuda Biological Station for Research) for ~12 years where he ran a fully supported sea-going research team. Lomas holds a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the University of Maryland at College Park. His areas of research include understanding the physiology and ecology, and interactions between the two, of natural marine phytoplankton populations through directed experimentation and observation.
Dr. Peter Countway, Associate Director for Algae and Protozoa. Dr. Countway is the Associate Director for Algae and Protozoa at the NCMA. Dr. Countway’s expertise is focused on studying the diversity and dynamics of microbial eukaryote assemblages using a combination of classical oceanographic techniques, microscopy, and cutting-edge molecular approaches with the goal of understanding how the vast microbial diversity in the world’s oceans contributes to the maintenance of ecosystem functions. Dr. Countway received his MS degree in Marine Science (bacterial biogeochemistry) from the College of William and Mary at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and his Ph.D. in Biology (protistan molecular ecology) from the University of Southern California, where he also conducted his postdoctoral research within the Division of Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography.
Mark Hurd, Associate Algal Curator. Mark has been with NCMA since 2015, and is the first point of contact for culture orders and information requests. Mark received his degree from SMCC in 2015 in Biotechnology. His prior experience in the restaurant business has set him well for working in a teamwork environment as well as the high degree of organization required to manage the whereabouts of nearly 3,000 algal strains.
Kristin Heidenreich, Associate Algal Curator. Kristin has a BS in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and a MS in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina. During both her undergraduate and graduate careers, her area of interest was phytoplankton ecology and physiology, learning skills related to general phytoplankton growth parameters (growth rates, cell sizes, etc.), phytoplankton pigment analysis, and microscopy techniques (light, confocal, and scanning electron microscopy). In addition to working with phytoplankton, Kristin has had experience with zooplankton samples from the Gulf of Mexico and commercial fishery species in the Bering Sea during previous employment/volunteer experiences.
Kerry Dykens, Assistant Algal Curator - Macroalgae. Kerry’s enthusiasm for sustainability, ocean health, and more specifically, seaweed, ultimately led her to the role of Macroalgal Curator at Bigelow. She received a Master’s degree in Oceanography from the University of New Hampshire, and a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Wentworth Institute of Technology. She has worked on developing early-detection technology for the red tide algae, Karenia Brevis, explored the potential impacts climate change may have on microbially-mediated geochemical cycles in the Gulf of Maine, and cultivated kelp from spores in the lab to blades “planted” in the fresh cold waters of Casco Bay (to be later harvested for products). At the NCMA, Kerry is responsible for maintaining, propagating, and preserving the macroalgal strains of the NCMA collection. She monitors growth, size, color, and overall health via microscopy and keeps detailed records and photo journals of the strains. She is excited by the potential impact of these seaweeds, as they are important to scientific, medical, and academic research, and to sustainable regenerative food production, and more.
Rimar Reed, Office Manager. Rimar is responsible for carrying out a wide range of administrative and practical tasks in support of sales, customer communications, order processing, shipping, administration of the culture course and general department support needs. Rimar has a BSBA in Accounting from Hawaii Pacific University.
Dr. Mike Preston, Senior Research Associate. Dr. Preston is a former medical microbiologist whose work included studying the immunology and pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa corneal infections. At the NCMA, Mike is in charge of setting up the marine bacteria collection as well as supporting the algal curators and managing and delivering special orders to customers.
Sarah Meyers, Maine Algal Research Infrastructure and Accelerator (MARIA) Project Administrator.Sarah comes to us from the private sector and currently is the Project Administrator for the Maine Algal Research Infrastructure & Accelerator (MARIA) project. Sarah is responsible for overseeing the MARIA newsletter as well as making sure all the elements of this diverse project work smoothly.
Bob Schmedicke, Managing Director of Technology Development - CAI. Responsible for guiding CAI's applied projects, Bob combines a background in microbial ecology with extensive experience in technical product development. He holds a BS from SUNY-ESF in Environmental Biology and Environmental Chemistry and served as CTO and Director of R&D for an international research apparatus company.
Paige Norris, NCMA/CAI Data Scientist. Paige holds a master’s degree from Northeastern University/Roux Institute in data science, and the NCMA/CAI Data Scientist. Across the NCMA and CAI teams, Paige is responsible for data management as well as helping to develop a new and improved data system linking all of the biochemical and genetic data to the NCMA strains and developing online analytical tools to interrogate the data.
Chloe Arsenault, NCMA Patent Research Technician. Chloe holds a Bachelor’s degree from University of Maine. Chloe is our Patent Research Technician, and is responsible for processing the large volume of biomaterial deposits submitted to NCMA under the Budapest Treaty and/or under USPTO regulations. This includes working with algae – both micro and macro, vegetative plant tissue, crop seeds, and microbial consortia.