The lab is growing – Alexandra McCarty is starting her masters degree here at UMCES and will be working on our recently funded USDA project to examine the genetic basis of low salinity tolerance in oysters. Alexandra (Lexy) got her bachelors degree in biology from St. Marys College Maryland, and has been working at the NIH in Bethesda for the past 2 years in the Undiagnosed Disease Program Translational Laboratory. Welcome!!!

Also welcome to Ben Lee, also a very recent (2017) graduate of St. Marys College MD with a degree in Biology. He will be our new laboratory technician and will be working on a variety of projects including RADseq of blue crabs, river herring eDNA, and Spartina conservation genetics. Welcome Ben !!!