Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is excited to announce that we’ve recently received two awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research that will help unlock the most fundamental unit of biology — the individual cell — and its untapped biotechnology potential.
Our Single Cell Genomics Center (SCGC) is the only facility in the world that offers open-access services in microbial single cell genomics. Funding for new instrumentation, led by its director Ramunas Stepanauskas, will enhance the center’s pioneering analytical systems to help scientists link the genomic blueprint of individual cells with information on their functional and physical traits.
The second grant, led by one of our newest senior research scientists Melody Lindsay, will use the cutting-edge technology coming out of SCGC and the Center for Aquatic Cytometry, to help advance knowledge about lesser-known branches of life, untangling their evolutionary history, how they contribute to global chemical cycles, and their biotechnology potential.
These projects, which also include senior research scientists David Emerson, Nicole Poulton, John Burns, and Julia Brown, bring us closer to understanding the hidden rules of life at the microbial scale — and how that life drives planetary processes. 🌎
