Collaborative Research: Causes and Mechanisms of Cell Death in Freshwater Phytoplankton
In most organisms, including humans, estimating rates of mortality and the causes of death is critical to understanding their ecology. Unfortunately, for phytoplankton (the microscopic photosynthetic organisms at the base of food chains in lakes and oceans) we do not know why and how they die. This lack of knowledge is a problem because phytoplankton death may be a critical factor in understanding harmful algal blooms, and responses to pollution or changing climate. The investigators will adapt cell biology techniques commonly used in medicine (including microscopy and flow cytometry – a specialized technique for rapidly measuring living cells), to study death in phytoplankton in the laboratory and in freshwater ponds and lakes. They will determine the key environmental factors (e.g. temperature, light or availability of nutrients) that trigger death in phytoplankton, and when and how phytoplankton die in nature.
Northeastern University’s College of Engineering is home to numerous federally-funded research centers and an array of leading-edge projects and initiatives that advance discovery and new knowledge in health, sustainability, and security.