About WHCOHH
The Center is comprised of an Administrative Core and four Research Projects.
These studies are coupled with an advanced Genomics Facility Core,
and are supplemented by a Pilot Project program.
The research projects in the proposed Center focus on the intersection
of population dynamics and genetics with hydrodynamic transport
and refuges of both harmful algal species and human pathogens. The
intersection of these two areas lies at the heart of this Center
for Oceans and Human Health. This is fundamentally an issue of physical-biological
interactions, a topic that oceanographers have been working on for
decades. Our approach is to combine physical oceanographic and modeling
studies together with the molecular genetic and species-specific
population data to be obtained in our research projects focusing
on harmful algae and disease agents. Species level information provides
powerful constraints on the underlying physical-biological interactions,
something that cannot be obtained simply by examining the bulk properties
(e.g., nutrients and chlorophyll) of coastal ocean systems. In turn,
the physical constraints on populations of harmful algae and infectious
agents will provide fundamental information on the distribution
and refuges of these organisms with potential human health consequences,
relevant to possible exposure and human risk.
