News

Mainers with Maine-eDNA

by Daniel Timmermann The 5-Year NSF EPSCoR Funded Track-1 Maine-eDNA Grant seeks to transform our understanding and sustainability of Maine’s coastal ecosystems via environmental DNA (eDNA). Maine-eDNA currently supports 31 undergraduate students from across the state and since 2019 has supported 87 students from Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Saint Joseph’s, SMCC, UMaine, UMM, and USM. Below […]

Read more

INSPIRES Team Profile: Salimeh Yasaei Sekeh

by Stefania Irene Marthakis  Salimeh Yasaei Sekeh is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science in the School of Computing and Information Science at the University of Maine. Sekeh is also a Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (CDSE-MSS) NSF awardee as well as a researcher on the NSF EPSCoR RII […]

Read more

The people stand talking in the woods as they work on a sensor mounted on a tripod

INSPIRES Team Profile: Thayer Whitney

by Stefania Irene Marthakis  Thayer Whitney is an undergraduate in the Electrical & Computer Engineering department at the University of Maine, working towards a B.S. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.  Whitney was initially drawn to the science programs at the University of Maine, but once he got here he discovered he was more inclined towards engineering. With […]

Read more

Three people stand in waders among seaweed holding a long sampling pole.

Understanding the Possibilities and Uncertainties of eDNA with Emily Pierce

By Daniel Timmermann What we understand about and from environmental DNA (eDNA) has increased immensely over the past few years. While researchers with the Maine-eDNA program learn more about Maine’s ecosystems they are also, importantly, developing a deeper understanding of what eDNA is capable of as an emerging technology and how to best apply it.  […]

Read more

Zach Wood sits on rocks by the water

Making Connections Through Collaboration and Data with Zach Wood

By Daniel Timmermann Our environment is a complex, interacting web that many disciplines have dedicated centuries to studying. However, the interconnectedness of our environment makes it challenging to understand through the lens of any single discipline. The NSF RII Track-2 FEC: Genomic Ecology of Coastal Organisms (GECO) program expands our understanding of these connections, and […]

Read more

Two women stand together in lab coatsd

EPSCoR Research Experience for Minorities (EREM) Application Process Open

Maine EPSCoR is now accepting applications for summer 2022 EREM Internships. The goal of these internships is to increase participation of groups who are underrepresented in STEM disciplines.  During the seven-week paid internship, interns will work directly on research and projects with Maine EPSCoR faculty, scientists, and professional staff members. While participating in cutting-edge research, […]

Read more

Matt Dube sits in computer lab with GIS maps on the screen.

Barracuda Co-PI Profile: Matthew Dube

By Stefania Irene Marthakis    Matthew Dube, Assistant Professor in Computer Information Systems and Data Science at the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA). Dube completed his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Statistics as well as both his advanced degrees in Spatial Information Science and Engineering at the University of Maine. Hired straight out of […]

Read more

Close up photo of lobster larva

Research Spotlight: Lobster Larval Diets with Alex Ascher

By Daniel Timmermann The ever discussed lobster begins life as a larva. A creature that is small and relatively lost in the world. Lobster larvae, in their earliest stage, struggle to even travel in one direction for any amount of time. Despite the importance of lobster in Maine and along the east coast as a […]

Read more

Woman with shoulder length brown hair

Staff Spotlight: Integrating Bioinformatics Pipelines with Laura Jackson

By Daniel Timmermann Laura Jackson joined the Maine-eDNA team in May 2021 as an integrative data scientist working with Maine EPSCoR. Jackson earned her Ph.D. in Bioinformatics at the University of South Dakota after finishing her masters and undergraduate work at Southeastern Louisiana University. Having developed a background in data integration and large-scale fish analysis, […]

Read more