Eric Schott

• Health and disease of aquatic organisms
• Use of molecular methods to discover and monitor marine pathogens, especially viruses of invertebrates
• Science communication with nonscientists in urban and fishing communities

Dr. Eric J. Schott received his B.A. from Reed College, Portland OR and his Ph.D. in genetics from Harvard University Medical School, Boston, MA. Dr. Schott began his work with the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute in Baltimore, Maryland in 1997. He assumed his present position in 2010 as Research Assistant Professor for the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET).

Dr. Schott is active in science education and watershed preservation, and has served on the boards of related nonprofits since 2006. Over the summer of 2016 he hosted local high school teachers learning about biodiversity in Baltimore Harbor and mentored a high school intern who studied blue crab health. Recent outreach activity includes science fair judging in the Baltimore City Schools (May 23, 2016), a “Bay Day” Blue crab demonstration (May 14, 2016) at the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center in Tilghman Island, and a public lecture (April 12, 2016) at the Chesapeake Biological Lab: “Why do blue crab numbers change from year to year?” He has made presentations to state legislative committees on matters related to Bay health in 2014 and 2016. Dr. Schott has served on the Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission since 2010.

Schott lab research focuses on understanding aquatic health, particularly the discovery and tracking of estuarine pathogens in the blue crab and other shellfish. Dr. Schott also collaborates with numerous researchers and stakeholders, applying molecular methods to monitor the health and biodiversity of Baltimore Harbor.

Selected Publications

• Flowers, E.F., Johnson, A.F., Aguilar, R., Schott, E.J. 2018. Prevalence of a pathogenic crustacean virus /Callinectes sapidus/ reovirus 1 near flow-through blue crab aquaculture in Chesapeake Bay, USA” _Dis. Aquat. Org_. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03232