These monthly updates give us the opportunity to report on the wonderful progress being made across GMGI. We are grateful not only to have consistent and positive updates to share, but also for the engaged and supportive community that shares in our excitement.
This month, you can read about: the stellar Class of 2021 as they continue their internships; the addition of a new team member who will lead the biomanufacturing curriculum in the soon-to-be-completed lab space at the Academy; details on an exciting research collaboration with a neighbor across the harbor; and a sneak peak of some good news to come on sequencing the lobster genome!
Please continue to send us your thoughts, comments and feedback – this communication is valued and appreciated by all of us.
Chris Bolzan
Executive Director
Photo credit: Ocean Alliance
Partnership with GMGI and Ocean Alliance Continues
For the past three years, GMGI has been partnering with Ocean Alliance to study whale microbiomes to better understand whale health.
The microbiome is the collection of microorganisms that reside on or within tissues and bodily fluids. It plays a very important role in health and disease. Like humans and other mammals, whales are susceptible to infections in their lungs. Understanding the prevalence and severity of such infections is key to assessing individual and population health — as well as developing informed management plans. Since we can’t bring a whale to the doctor’s office, one way to assess their health is to collect their exhaled breath condensate (or blow) and to look at their lung microbiome.
Using Ocean Alliance’s non-invasive SnotBot® drone, we can safely and harmlessly collect a sample of whale blow. Extracting and sequencing the DNA in this sample provides a preview of the microorganisms inhabiting a whale’s respiratory tract, including those associated with a healthy microbiome and potential pathogens. Merging this with other visual markers of whale health, we are developing a means of remotely assessing the health of our most charismatic marine mammals. GMGI is excited to continue to expand this partnership. We look forward to another season of sampling with Ocean Alliance.
We are thrilled to introduce Stephen F. Anderson, PhD as the newest member of the GMGI team.
A protein chemist with over 20 years of industry experience and a strong teaching background, Dr. Anderson joins GMGI as Gloucester Biotechnology Academy’s Biomanufacturing Lead Teacher. He holds a B.S. in biochemistry from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University. Before getting started in Boston-area industry, he did postdoctoral work in mammalian transcription biology at Harvard Medical School.
After decades of experience running core protein production and analytical labs in both startups and Big Pharma — as well as supporting projects from discovery to manufacturing — Steve is looking forward to getting back to his teaching roots.
“Since leaving the academic track in 1999, I have missed the opportunities to make a difference in students’ lives,” Steve said. “I’m thrilled to have the chance to get back to it.” He sees a stark, but incredibly valuable, difference in the way Academy operates compared to the traditional college model. “In a university, the students spend years learning things they will never use in an entry-level position; this program gives students the basics and gets them into the workforce ASAP, benefitting them and their community.”
With the construction of the Academy’s new biomanufacturing learning environment fully underway, the addition of Steve’s skillset comes at an optimal time. The incoming Class of 2022 will be the first cohort to utilize the new space, and they will have Steve’s experience and knowledge to optimize the hands-on curriculum. “I’ve built up a lot of experience in bioprocessing and I feel that the time has come to share it with a new generation,” he said.
Welcome, Steve!
Steve can be reached at stephen.anderson@gmgi.org or 978.879.4575×112
Class of 2021 Internships
The Class of 2021 is in week eight of their internships – check out a few students in action, putting their newfound skills to use in the lab.
| These monthly updates give us the opportunity to report on the wonderful progress being made across GMGI. We are grateful not only to have consistent and positive updates to share, but also for the engaged and supportive community that shares in our excitement. This month, you can read about: the stellar Class of 2021 as they continue their internships; the addition of a new team member who will lead the biomanufacturing curriculum in the soon-to-be-completed lab space at the Academy; details on an exciting research collaboration with a neighbor across the harbor; and a sneak peak of some good news to come on sequencing the lobster genome! Please continue to send us your thoughts, comments and feedback – this communication is valued and appreciated by all of us. Chris Bolzan Executive Director Photo credit: Ocean AlliancePartnership with GMGI and Ocean Alliance Continues For the past three years, GMGI has been partnering with Ocean Alliance to study whale microbiomes to better understand whale health. The microbiome is the collection of microorganisms that reside on or within tissues and bodily fluids. It plays a very important role in health and disease. Like humans and other mammals, whales are susceptible to infections in their lungs. Understanding the prevalence and severity of such infections is key to assessing individual and population health — as well as developing informed management plans. Since we can’t bring a whale to the doctor’s office, one way to assess their health is to collect their exhaled breath condensate (or blow) and to look at their lung microbiome. Using Ocean Alliance’s non-invasive SnotBot® drone, we can safely and harmlessly collect a sample of whale blow. Extracting and sequencing the DNA in this sample provides a preview of the microorganisms inhabiting a whale’s respiratory tract, including those associated with a healthy microbiome and potential pathogens. Merging this with other visual markers of whale health, we are developing a means of remotely assessing the health of our most charismatic marine mammals. GMGI is excited to continue to expand this partnership. We look forward to another season of sampling with Ocean Alliance. Introducing Stephen F. Anderson, the Academy’s Biomanufacturing Lead TeacherWe are thrilled to introduce Stephen F. Anderson, PhD as the newest member of the GMGI team. A protein chemist with over 20 years of industry experience and a strong teaching background, Dr. Anderson joins GMGI as Gloucester Biotechnology Academy’s Biomanufacturing Lead Teacher. He holds a B.S. in biochemistry from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University. Before getting started in Boston-area industry, he did postdoctoral work in mammalian transcription biology at Harvard Medical School. After decades of experience running core protein production and analytical labs in both startups and Big Pharma — as well as supporting projects from discovery to manufacturing — Steve is looking forward to getting back to his teaching roots. “Since leaving the academic track in 1999, I have missed the opportunities to make a difference in students’ lives,” Steve said. “I’m thrilled to have the chance to get back to it.” He sees a stark, but incredibly valuable, difference in the way Academy operates compared to the traditional college model. “In a university, the students spend years learning things they will never use in an entry-level position; this program gives students the basics and gets them into the workforce ASAP, benefitting them and their community.” With the construction of the Academy’s new biomanufacturing learning environment fully underway, the addition of Steve’s skillset comes at an optimal time. The incoming Class of 2022 will be the first cohort to utilize the new space, and they will have Steve’s experience and knowledge to optimize the hands-on curriculum. “I’ve built up a lot of experience in bioprocessing and I feel that the time has come to share it with a new generation,” he said. Welcome, Steve! Steve can be reached at stephen.anderson@gmgi.org or 978.879.4575×112Class of 2021 Internships The Class of 2021 is in week eight of their internships – check out a few students in action, putting their newfound skills to use in the lab.    |
GMGI Science Hour Talks Continue with Dr. Nadia Rosenthal
Register now! On May 13th, Nadia Rosenthal, PhD delivers our final Science Hour before a short summer hiatus.
Dr. Rosenthal is the Scientific Director of The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor (ME), whose research focuses on regenerative medicine. She has recently begun a new program to develop animal models of COVID-19 through humanizing JAX’s genetically diverse mouse strains to reflect different patient responses to the virus. Dr. Rosenthal’s talk “Exploring COVID-19 host genetics with mice” is on Thursday, May 13th at 7:30p on Zoom. Click here to register.
Please visit the Science Hour page on our website to learn more about speakers and watch past talks, and reach out to Ashley Destino at ashley.destino@gmgi.org with any questions.
| Photos from the Field |
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GMGI Researcher Dylan Comb collects samples in Ipswich for an ongoing research project focusing on soft-shell clams.
Enrolling now: SummerSTEM and Academy Class of 2022
GMGI is currently enrolling for BOTH of our Education programs — the Biotechnology Certificate Program and our SummerSTEM program. If you are interested in joining our Class of 2022, please visit our website to learn more about how to apply. If you know a middle or high school student who would be interested in participating in our week-long SummerSTEM program, please click here to learn more about this exciting summer opportunity.
| The GMGI Science Minute Have you ever wondered what means to ‘sequence a genome’? GMGI Senior Research Associate Jennifer Polinski has been hard at work for the past few years creating the reference genome for the American Lobster, and is here to explain how it’s done.  |
Cape Ann Community 