Sam Christenson

Omics, natural products, microbial genetics

Sam Christenson is a Ph.D student working with Drs. Allen Place and Tsvetan Bachvaroff at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology. He graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UMBC in 2023, then spent two years as a lab technician in a next-generation sequencing core. His current research utilizes omics and other biochemical tools to investigate toxin biosynthesis in dinoflagellates. Sam received the University of Maryland Dean’s Fellowship for the 2025-2026 school year and is an UMCES Centennial Presidential Fellow.