IMET Angel Investors Make Largest Commitment in History
The IMET Angel Investors Program led by Mike and Trish Davis have been a critical asset to IMET’s research program, thanks to the group’s funding for over five years. The IMET Angel Investors provide funding for early- stage scientific research that would likely not otherwise occur and encourage innovative solutions and methods that lead to the advancement of marine and environmental research in Maryland with a focus on Chesapeake Bay restoration and sustainability.
This year, the IMET angel investors made the group’s largest commitment to date, giving a wonderful opportunity to fund four projects for 2024 at $100,000 each.
Project Title: Evolving Microalgae to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emission and Nutrient Runoff into the Chesapeake Bay
Principal Investigator: Dr. Yantao Li
In Maryland, there is a growing concern for the rising sea levels and extreme increases in temperature. Have you noticed that our summers are getting hotter too? Climate change is linked to increasing CO₂ concentrations in the atmosphere and pose a significant risk to ecosystems and human health. Another environmental challenge in Maryland is that harmful nutrient runoff from farming fuels pollution that triggers harmful algal blooms in the Chesapeake Bay. Yantao Li’s project tackles both of these challenges by improving the ability of the microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica IMET1 to capture CO₂ from power plant emissions and to absorb a higher amount of harmful nutrients from manure wastewater.
Dr. Li’s team will use Adaptive Lab Evolution (ALE) to enhance Nannochloropsis to grow at higher CO₂ levels and manure wastewater conditions, enhancing growth rates and nutrient absorption by up to 40%. Because of the IMET Angel Investors, Dr. Li can leverage further funding opportunities to expand this innovative solution.
Project Title: Bypassing Blue Crab Natural Mortality for Profit and Conservation
Principal Investigator: Dr. Eric Schott
The Chesapeake Bay has experienced a decline in soft crab production. Soft shell crab production has been a longstanding critical economic and cultural activity in the Chesapeake Bay. In recent years, bay watermen have been facing economic threats of crab mortality ranging from invasive species to crab disease. Dr. Schott seeks to create an alternative process for local economic sustainability to increase soft crab yields by cultivating juvenile crabs collected from the lower Bay, bypassing the high natural mortality that limits their survival to adulthood. The research will develop and test methods to grow these juvenile crabs in individual, biofouling-covered cages that utilize naturally occurring forage, aiming to reduce feed costs and create a sustainable production model that offers an alternative to wild harvesting for watermen.
Success in this initiative could foster economic resilience for Chesapeake watermen and offer a modernized pathway for sustainable aquaculture in the region.
Project Title: Bacterial Functions Linked to Success in Juvenile Oysters
Principal Investigator: Allison Tracy
The survival of hatchery-raised juvenile oysters is vital to the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay; however, this varies by environment. Allison Tracy proposes to use DNA sequencing technology at IMET to explore how bacteria in juvenile oysters help them grow better in specific locations, particularly in high-salinity sites. By identifying helpful bacteria, Dr. Tracy’s project could improve oyster survival rates in the Chesapeake Bay.
This research aims to pinpoint bacteria that aid oyster survival, supporting both aquaculture and restoration efforts. It will also expand IMET’s DNA sequencing capacity and foster future collaborations within UMCES.
Title: Developing a DNA-Based Vaccine for Mycobacterium marinum
Principal Investigator: Nilli Zmora
Rising Chesapeake Bay temperatures have fueled a disease-causing spread of the bacterium Mycobacterium marinum in the Chesapeake Bay, infecting over 60% of fish species, in particular striped bass, and posing risks to both wildlife and humans.
M. marinum is a slow-growing bacterium that causes severe disease in fish and can also cause human infection, with few effective solutions and a lengthy antibiotic treatment. Previous vaccination efforts led to limited success, highlighting the need for a new and effective approach. Dr. Zmora’s project aims to develop a DNA vaccine targeting two antigens (Ag85A and MMAR_4110) to boost immunity in fish.
DNA vaccines are emerging as a safer, easier alternative to traditional vaccines. If successful, the vaccine could reduce M. marinum infections in striped bass and can be potentially adapted for other fish species and diseases furthering disease management research in the Chesapeake Bay.
Thank you to the IMET Angel Investors for the group’s continued support and passion for Chesapeake Bay restoration and sustainability!
Mike and Trish Davis
Don and Cathy MacMurray
Arthur "Jib" Edwards
Tom and Nancy Reynolds
Jeff & Kristyn Eckel
Ken Code & Cathy Dea Code
Michael Saylor
Larry Clark
Additional contribution made by Dr. James Albrecht