Research Interests

     Research in my laboratory is divided into two main areas concerning the production and regulation of secondary metabolites by algae, especially cyanobacteria (blue-green algae).

     The first area concerns the environmental toxicology of cyanobacteria toxins in municipal and recreational water supplies. This includes world-wide occurrence of toxic cyanobacteria, regulation of toxin production in nature and toxicology of toxic strains and isolated toxins.

     The second area concerns the application of biotechnological methods and approaches to the study of secondary metabolites. This includes algae culture, toxin production, molecular taxonomy, isolation and characterization of toxins, their mechanism of action (including use as pharmacological tools) and regulation of toxin production at the cellular/molecular level.

Degrees and Honors: