News

Please welcome Dr. Bastien Petit to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. Sandra Loesgen's Lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro and colleagues who published papers in Algal Research -"The effect of nitrogen limitation on carbohydrates and β-glucan accumulation in Nannochloropsis oculata" and in Revista de Biología Tropical - "Ontogeny of digestive enzymes in larvae of the Clown Anemonefish, Amphiprion ocellaris (Perciformes: Pomacentridae)." Read More

Please welcome Nikolas Kuncis to Whitney Lab! He joins the Ibarra-Castro Lab as an aquaculture technician. Read More

Thank you to everyone who supported us for the Whitney Lab Virtual 5K! We had over 170 virtual participants! If you selected your shirt and medal to be mailed, they mail this week. Tag us wearing your gear at #WhitneyLab5K Read More

Please welcome Lilli Longo to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined the Sea Turtle Hospital as the summer intern. Read More

If you missed our May Evenings at Whitney, "The Evolution of Two Transmissible Cancers in Tasmanian Devils” with Max Stammnitz, PhD, EMBO Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Genomic Regulation, the YouTube link is below. Read More

Published May 15 in Nature Ecology and Evolution, the paper by Dr. David Duffy and his group outlines the relative ease of collecting human DNA nearly everywhere they looked. Read the full article in UF News and other international and national news articles. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Jenny Whilde to the Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined the lab as an Environmental Grant Coordinator. Read More

The award-winning ZDF documentary series with actor, animal advocate and environmentalist Hannes Jaenicke released their latest documentary featuring the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory showcasing staff, fibropapilloma (FP) research, and hospital patients. Read More

One of our favorite model organisms here at Whitney Laboratory is discussed in this Nature article. Read More

Please welcome Leah Adelmann to Whitney Laboratory staff as the Sea Turtle Hospital's Animal Care Technician. Read More

Please welcome Lexis Massey to Whitney Lab! Lexis joins the Osborne lab to pursue a M.S. in Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences working with slow-release phosphorus fertilizers. Read More

Brent spoke with Whitney Lab graduate student Bailey Steinworth about her “basic” biology research at the lab with the upside-down jellyfish, Cassiopea. Read More

Congratulations to PhD Student Brendan Gibbs for his recent publication  "Recording central nervous system responses of freely-swimming marine and freshwater fishes with a customizable, implantable AC differential amplifier" in the Journal of Neuroscience Methods. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series continues Thursday, May 11, 2023, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “The Evolution of Two Transmissible Cancers in Tasmanian Devils”. Max Stammnitz, PhD, EMBO Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Genomic Regulation, will be the speaker. Read More

If you missed our April Evenings at Whitney, "Fountains of youth discovered through the biology of aging” with Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, PhD, the YouTube link is below. Read More

Seaver initiated two new research collaborations as a result of this trip, and used her expertise to help both junior and established participants establish research priorities and problem solve technical challenges in each of their study animals. Read More

The Residential Clam Restoration project is using "super clams" to help restore filter-feeding clam populations throughout the Indian River Lagoon. Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital patient Yardstick received their swimming papers and was released March 30 at the beach side of River to Sea Preserve Boardwalk (Marineland Beach) in the town of Marineland, Florida. Read More

The Neurophysiological Basis of Chemosensory Coding - A symposium inspired by the scientific legacy of Barry W. Ache, Ph.D. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory Associate Professor of Chemistry for recently being selected as a recipient of the American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP) Matt Suffness Young Investigator Award. Read More

Summer camp sign-ups are coming to a close — for grade school students. But adult learners still have opportunities to engage in Lifelong Learning Workshops at the UF Whitney Laboratory. Attendees at March 18 workshop learned about the impacts of phosphorus and nitrogen on estuaries and wetlands. Read More

Florida Oceans Day is Florida Ocean Alliance’s annual conference of members, friends, officials and legislators who share common interests in Florida’s marine and coastal resources and their critical role in sustaining a healthy blue economy in the state. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Federica Scucchia to the Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined the Martindale Lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Read More

If you missed our March Evenings at Whitney, "How to build an animal: Learning from the embryo", with Dr. Paula Murphy, the YouTube link is below.  Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series continues Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Fountains of youth discovered through the biology of aging”. Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, PhD, Professor of Physiology and Aging, College of Medicine at the University of Florida, will be the speaker. Read More

Join us for the 2023 Whitney Lab 5K - a virtual walk/run for marine science. Complete a 5K walk or run anywhere, anytime between May 20 - May 27 to celebrate the wonders of marine life with this year's featured animal - the jellyfish! Read More

Registration is now open for the 2023 Whitney Laboratory Science Summer Day Camps and Sea Turtle Summer Camp! Read More

A new Whitney Laboratory Science Program is now available - for Adults! Spend the day with a Whitney faculty member and put your problem solving skills to the test at an Adult Lifelong Series Workshop. Module dates are March 18 and April 8. Read More

In an effort to understand how genes can drive the evolution of new cell types, UF Whitney Laboratory biologists have inactivated a gene from the starlet sea anemone and recreated an ancient cell type that is not normally found in this animal. Congratulations to former Whitney scientist Dr. Leslie Babonis (currently an Assistant Professor at Cornell University), Dr. Camille Enjolras, Brent Foster, Dr. Fredrik Hugosson, Dr. Joseph Ryan, Dr. Mark Martindale and colleagues who recently published in Nature Communications, "Single-cell atavism reveals an ancient mechanism of cell type diversification in a sea anemone". Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted continues Thursday, March 9, 2023, with the program titled “How to build an animal: learning from the embryo”. Dr. Paula Murphy, Professor in the Zoology Department at University of Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, will be the speaker. Read More

Join together with the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience on Giving Day – your gift can directly impact our areas of greatest need. 2 Bits, 4 Bits, Every Bit Counts! Read More

If you missed our February Evenings at Whitney, "Circadian clocks in muscle: time does matter", with Dr. Karyn Esser, the YouTube link is below. Thank you to everyone who joined us in person and virtually. Read More

Come celebrate the 10th year of synergies and positive interactions at the North Florida Marine Science Symposium at the Whitney Laboratory March 2-3, 2023. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Sophie Dupont to the Whitney Laboratory! Dr. Dupont is a visiting researcher in the Duffy Lab and will be training in the viral detection and quantification lab techniques developed at the Whitney Lab. Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital patient Rocket Power received their swimming papers and was released February 2 on Ormond Beach! Read More

Please welcome Harrison Hobbs to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined the Sea Turtle Hospital as the winter intern. Read More

This January the Bailey-Niblett Family Endowment helped fund a Whitney Postdoctoral Research Associate's trip to the symposium “RNA: From Biology to Drug Discovery” held at The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology. Read More

Please welcome Richard Rossi to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined the facilities team assisting with custodial services. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience continues Thursday, February 9, 2023, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Circadian clocks in muscle: time does matter”. Dr. Karyn Esser, Professor and Chair in the Department of Physiology and Aging at the University of Florida, will be the speaker. Read More

If you missed our January Evenings at Whitney, "Preservation Institute St. Augustine: Exploring coastal heritage through research and pedagogy", with Dr. Cleary Larkin and Dr. Sujin Kim, the YouTube link is below. Read More

In a series of recent papers, including one published Jan. 2 in the journal Chem, Jeff Rudolf’s group, in collaboration with Sandra Loesgen, discovered how bacteria craft unusual versions of terpenoids, known as eunicellanes. The discoveries by the team could open up new avenues to explore the eunicellanes as drug candidates. Read More

Congratulations to Bailey Steinworth, graduate student in the Martindale Lab, for her publication and making the cover of Genome Biology and Evolution. Read More

Rafter and Union marked a total of 66 animals the Sea Turtle Hospital has released since opening in October 2015. Read More

Please welcome Natalia E. Padillo-Anthemides to the Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined the Ryan Lab as a Ph.D. student through the Genetics & Genomics program. Read More

The first lecture of the spring series, hosted by the Whitney Laboratory, will be Thursday, January 12, 2023, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Preservation Institute St. Augustine: Exploring coastal heritage through research and pedagogy”. Dr. Cleary Larkin and Dr. Sujin Kim will be the speakers. Read More

Brenda Cannaliato and the Docents recently threw an appreciation breakfast for our own Amy Biedenbach for her impact on our programming here. Read More

Please welcome Taryn Chaya back to Whitney Lab! Taryn returns to the Osborne Lab to pursue a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Ecology, with a concentration in Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences. Read More

Happy Holidays and warm wishes for the New Year from Whitney Laboratory. Thank you for being a part of the Whitney community! ⛄️❄️ Read More

There is still time to give a year-end charitable gift in 2022 and we have an exciting match opportunity available for our K-12 education endowment fund. Read More

If you missed our December Evenings at Whitney, "Are Honey Bees Really Dying?", with Jamie Ellis, PhD, the YouTube link is below! Thank you to everyone who joined us in person and virtually. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Loesgen who is now appointed as an affiliate associate professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the UF College of Pharmacy. Read More

Please welcome Jon Rueben to the Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined the Osborne and Ibarra-Castro Labs as a Biological Scientist. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience continues Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Are honey bees really dying?”. Dr. Jamie Ellis, Gahan Endowed Professor of Entomology, Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory at the University of Florida, will be the speaker. Read More

Thank you SACA for your support to help raise and release 40 million clam larvae into the Matanzas River! A portion of this amount was released during the First Coast News filming on boats provided by the Whitney Laboratory and the Matanzas Riverkeeper. Read More

Anhadvir is currently visiting the Ryan and Martindale labs as part of a collaborative project to synthesize Yeast two Hybrid cDNA libraries for early diverging animals including M. leidyi (ctenophore), E. mulleri (poriferan) and N. vectensis (cnidarian). Read More

Unfortunately, our speaker is not able to join us this Thursday, December 8, so we regret that we will have to cancel the lecture “Killer Snails: Agents of Change and Innovation” with Mandë Holford, Ph.D. We apologize for any inconvenience. Read More

On Sunday, November 28 Whitney Laboratory collaborated with Black In Marine Science (BIMS) for a beach clean up with over 347 pounds of trash collected! Read More

Whitney Laboratory Senior Director of Advancement Jessica Long was recently a guest on Flagler Radio's Lifeline radio show. She talks all things Whitney Lab including our research, the Sea Turtle Hospital, new building, clams, oysters and more! Read More

Thank you to all who have joined us to support washback sea turtles cared for by the Sea Turtle Hospital staff each year by Adopting a Washback, each symbolically named! We are halfway to our goal, and adoptions are only available until this Friday November 18th, so don't delay! Read More

Join us to help support washback sea turtles we care for at the Sea Turtle Hospital each season by symbolically Adopting a Washback, named by you*! When you make a gift of any amount you will receive a personalized washback adoption certificate within one business day of your donation via email. Your turtle support keeps the Sea Turtle Hospital going strong! Read More

Congratulations to Postdoctoral Research Associate Conor MacDonnell, Ph.D., Todd Osborne, Ph.D., Anna Beard, and colleagues who published a paper in Science of the Total Environment -"Use of a wastewater recovery product (struvite) to enhance subtropical seagrass restoration" A news story covering the research was also recently in Futurity. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory Ph.D. student Justin Waletich and postdoctoral research associate Jingwei Song, Ph.D. from the Schnitzler Lab as well as the rest of the recipients for their awards for best posters at the 2022 Florida Genetics Symposium. Read More

The Taste of the Fun Coast event held on October 26 raised over $12,000 to support the Sea Turtle Hospital! Thank you to Flagler Broadcasting, Hammock Beach Resort and Coastal Cloud for your continued support of sea turtles and our Hospital. Read More

The 2022 Florida Genetics Symposium hosted by the University of Florida Genetics Institute will be held on November 2 and 3 at the Cancer & Genetics Research Complex. Read More

Please welcome Ellie Padgett to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined the advancement team as the Development Coordinator. Read More

Congratulations to Lucas Guttieres, graduate student in the Martindale Lab, for receiving a University of Florida Grinter Fellowship! Read More

If you missed our October Evenings at Whitney, Big Ideas from Little Brains, with James Strother, PhD, the YouTube link is below! Read More

Please welcome Sean Westley to the Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined the Osborne Lab as a Research Technician. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth Kaweesa and Prof Sandra Loesgen at Whitney Laboratory, who recently published with collaborators in Advances in Cancer Biology - Metastasis - "Combination of the natural product mensacarcin with vemurafenib (Zelboraf) combats BRAF mutant and chemo-resistant melanoma in vitro by affecting cell metabolism and cellular migration." Read More

Please welcome Dr. Cezar Borba to the Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined the Strother Lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Read More

Please welcome Gianna Fanelli to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined the Duffy Lab as a graduate student. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Christine Schnitzler and her co-authors from the University of Pittsburgh and the National Human Genome Research Institute of the NIH for publishing a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) – “A family of unusual immunoglobulin superfamily genes in an invertebrate histocompatibility complex” Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital patients Allen Wrench and Engineer received their swimming papers and were released on September 27. Allen Wrench was a public release at River to Sea Preserve Boardwalk (Marineland Beach) in the town of Marineland, Florida and Engineer was a private release at Gamble Rogers State Park, Florida. Read More

Please welcome Kendra Trezona to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined the Sea Turtle Hospital as the fall intern. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Conor MacDonnell to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined the Osborne Lab as a postdoctoral research associate. Conor MacDonnell is a marine ecologist with a focus in seagrasses, an important ecosystem for both our charismatic megafauna and our coastal communities. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Adolfo Lara to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined the Ryan Lab as a postdoctoral research associate and will be focused on the evolutionary genomics of doliolids. Read More

Please welcome María Laura Tejeda Miramontes, a visiting scholar, to the Whitney Laboratory. While at Whitney, Maria Laura will be joining the Ibarra-Castro lab to continue her master's training under the direction of Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience continues Thursday, October 13, 2022, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Big Ideas From Little Brains”. Dr. James Strother, Assistant Professor of Biology at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, will be the speaker. Read More

Thank you to our Whitney Laboratory Postdoctoral Associates, you really power the Whitney lab's research and efforts! We appreciate you! Read More

If you missed our September Evenings at Whitney, The Evolution of the COVID-19 Pandemic, with Michael Lauzardo, MD, and Cindy Prins, PhD, the YouTube link is below! Read More

New look for the Whitney Laboratory Discovery Walk signs! Enjoy a scenic and educational walk along the Whitney Laboratory shoreline Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Gonzalo Quiroga-Artigas, for his recently published paper with Dr. Danielle de Jong and Dr. Christine Schnitzler in Open Biology – “GNL3 is an evolutionarily conserved stem cell gene influencing cell proliferation, animal growth and regeneration in the hydrozoan Hydractinia” Read More

Congratulations to Dr. David Duffy and his lab for being highlighted in the USA Today story about research on Environmental DNA. Duffy hopes their work will shed light on what causes the tumors to spread, why the tumors afflict some turtles more than others – and may hold a key to unlocking those same questions in human tumors. Read More

New Whitney shirts are in! All proceeds benefit The Sea Turtle Hospital at UF Whitney Lab. Read More

In keeping with its Guy Harvey marine-life conservation brand, Guy Harvey Oceanfront Resort St. Augustine Beach is sponsoring Sea Turtle Hospital patient Allen Wrench’s care and medical supplies as he is nursed back to health. The resort is introducing various informational and promotional programs to encourage guests to participate in Allen Wrench’s rehab and receive updates on his future release. Read More

Dr. Todd Osborne talks Oyster and Clam Restoration on NBC News NOW along with oyster restoration citizen scientist Dr. Eric Smith who shares how citizen scientists are helping restore the reefs. Read More

The University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience is excited to announce the return of the Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series in fall 2022. The first lecture of the fall series will be Thursday, September 8, 2022, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “The Evolution of the COVID-19 Pandemic”. Michael Lauzardo, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Deputy Director of Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida and Cindy Prins, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Florida, will be the speakers. Read More

This summer the Bailey-Niblett Family Endowment helped fund a graduate student trip to the European Evolutionary Biology Meeting (EuroEvoDevo) in Napoli, Italy from May 31-June 3. Read More

Congratulations to the Duffy lab whose eDNA research was featured in the National Geographic article - Hidden DNA is revealing secrets of animals’ lives Read More

Please welcome Lucas Guttieres to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined the Martindale Lab as a graduate assistant. Read More

Whitney Lab Postdoctoral Research Associate Dr. Allison Edgar talks ctenophores (commonly known as comb jellies) at the Alachua County Library District Ocean Tales summer program. The program includes learning, reading, and exploring the ocean! 🌊 Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital patients Artichoke and Granny Smith received their swimming papers and were released at River to Sea Preserve on July 14. Thank you to everyone who helped welcome Artichoke and Granny Smith home! Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Elias Lunsford who published a paper with Dr. James Liao and coauthors in the Proceedings in eLife - "Evolutionary convergence of a neural mechanism in the cavefish lateral line system." Read More

Postdoctoral Research Associate Dr. Jingwei Song talks snail fur at the Alachua County Library District Ocean Tales summer program. Each week the library spotlights a different sea creature and talks to their caretakers. Read More

We are excited to announce that Artichoke and Granny Smith plan to be released on Thursday, July 14 at 11:00 a.m. at the beach side of River to Sea Preserve Boardwalk (Marineland Beach) in the town of Marineland, Florida. Both animals are happy, heathy, and ready to return home to their ocean home! Read More

In this primer Dr. James Liao highlights multiple strategies that fish use to swim more efficiently. Some involve structural properties like tail shape and body stiffness, while others involve higher order behaviors to exploit the energy already available in the environment. Read More

On June 14, Elias Lunsford, a graduate student advised by James Liao, Associate Professor of Biology, successfully defended his Ph.D. entitled ““Mechanisms and evolution of sensory feedback and signal transduction in lateral line hair cells”. Read More

We are pleased to announce that Whitney Faculty Dr. Christine Schnitzler was granted promotion and tenure by the University of Florida Board of Trustees to Associate Professor of Biology. Read More

You’ve heard of crime scene investigations. One team of scientists is applying that same kind of technology used to find criminals as a way to help sea turtles. The University of Florida Whitney Laboratory in St. Johns County have figured a way to collect sea turtle DNA from the water, even when they don’t see any sea turtles around. Read More

This year we would like to invite you to celebrate World Sea Turtle Day during our mini open house at the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab on Friday, June 17 from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Subhra Shankha Koley to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined the Liao Lab as a postdoctoral associate and will be exploring the various fluid mechanical aspects of the hydrodynamics of fish schooling behind the wake of multiple cylinders and other flow conditions. Read More

Congratulations to the Loesgen Lab for their contributions to a recent paper entitled, "Heat Stress of Algal Partner Hinders Colonization Success and Alters the Algal Cell Surface Glycome in a Cnidarian-Algal Symbiosis" published in Microbiology Spectrum that has implications of ocean warming on corals. Read More

Please welcome Kendall Breland back to Whitney Laboratory! She joins Dr. Todd Osborne's lab for another summer internship. Read More

Please welcome Catalina Williams to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined the Ibarra-Castro and Osborne Labs as an aquaculture technician. Read More

A study led by University of Florida researchers is the first to sequence environmental DNA, or eDNA, from sea turtles — genetic material shed as they travel over beaches and in water. “We wanted to test the boundaries of this technology, which hadn't really been applied to sea turtles before and certainly not on sand,” said David Duffy, UF Whitney Laboratory Assistant Professor of Wildlife Disease Genomics and Rising Star Condron Family Endowed Assistant Professor. Read More

Please welcome Bridget Ausley to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined the Sea Turtle Hospital as the summer husbandry/education intern. Read More

Please welcome Lana Dykes to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Joseph Ryan's lab as an undergraduate researcher. Read More

Please welcome Lane Greene to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined the facilities team as a maintenance professional. Read More

Our dedicated volunteers are a key foundation of the Whitney Laboratory! Read More

Please welcome Esra Goturk to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. James Liao's lab as the laboratory manager. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Leslie Babonis, Dr. Camile Enjolras, Dr. Joseph Ryan and Dr. Mark Q. Martindale for their contributions to a recent paper entitled, "A novel regulatory gene promotes novel cell fate by suppressing ancestral fate in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis" published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Casandra Newkirk and Dr. Mark Q. Martindale for their contributions to a recent paper entitled, "Cnidarian-Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis establishment is independent of photosynthesis" published in the journal Current Biology. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Allison Edgar who published a paper with Dr. Mark Martindale and coauthors in the Proceedings in the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) - "Ctenophores are direct developers that reproduce continuously beginning very early after hatching." Read More

Whitney Laboratory joined with Star Brite Solutions, Coastal Conservation Association Florida, and the IRL Clam Restoration Project to plant 100,000 clams, along with dozens of red mangroves, in the Indian River Lagoon on Earth Day! The clams planted on Friday added to the 13 million clams put into the lagoon over the last three years. Read More

Want to make a difference? You can sponsor some of our current Sea Turtle Hospital patients! Your sponsorship goes directly into the care of your selected patient. Help make a difference today on this very special Earth Day! Read More

The April Evenings at Whitney Lecture scheduled for this Thursday is being rescheduled for fall so there will not be a lecture this month. We look forward to seeing everyone when Evenings at Whitney starts up again on September 8, 2022! Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital patient "Pesto" was released at Marineland Beach on March 22, 2022. Pesto had been in our care since May 2021, after arriving from New Smyrna. Read More

The Sea Turtle Hospital team will be shellebrating at Turtle Fest in support of the Volusia Turtle Patrol this Saturday. Stop by and help them gear up for nesting season! Read More

If you missed our March Evenings at Whitney, What's Underwater St. Augustine, with Joe Kistel, the YouTube link is below! Read More

Whitney shirts are in! All proceeds benefit The Sea Turtle Hospital at UF Whitney Lab. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro who has been selected to receive the "Eric Pederson" for Innovation and Technological Development Award for his contribution to the development of aquaculture in Mexico. Read More

Congratulations to Seaver Lab graduate student and sci comm blogger Lauren Kunselman for her recent blog post on Dr. Mikhail Matz's research on DNA methylation in invertebrates, "Epigenetics -Mikhail Matz- letting the data lead" for the blog affiliated with the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB). Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro who recently published a paper with colleagues titled "Technical-economic viability of white snook Centropomus viridis culture in floating cages in a coastal lagoon in northwestern Mexico" in Aquaculture Reports. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Elaine Seaver, Professor of Biology and Whitney Lab faculty, who published an article entitled ‘Sifting through the mud: A tale of building the annelid Capitella teleta for EvoDevo studies’. This special volume highlights emerging animal models for Evolution and Development research. Read More

Please welcome Bonnie Maxwell to the Whitney Laboratory! Bonnie joins the administration team as a receptionist and will help with travel, reimbursements, shipments and other administrative support. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience continues Thursday, March 10, 2022, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “What’s Underwater St. Augustine”. Joe Kistel, Underwater Cinematographer and TISIRI Founder, will be the speaker. Read More

Join Catherine Eastman, Sea Turtle Hospital Program Manager, for a Sea Turtles and Microplastics Lunch and Learn Webinar on February 22 from 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. Learn why microplastics are a hazard for sea turtles and what you can do to help. Read More

On Feb. 9, after months of preparation, Whitney Laboratory, with the help of volunteers and local boat captains, released over 100,000 juvenile redfish in waters within a 15-mile radius of the facility. Read More

Join together with the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience on Giving Day – your gift can directly impact our areas of greatest need. 2 Bits, 4 Bits, Every Bit Counts! Read More

If you missed our February Evenings at Whitney, The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans, with Cynthia Barnett, the YouTube link is below! Read More

This grant will allow researchers to better understand the brains and nervous systems of animals and humans by studying gelatinous ocean comb jellies, sea creatures that can lead us to insights about how brains began. This is the first time the foundation has awarded the grant to the University of Florida! Read More

In an effort to increase Red Drum populations in local Florida waters, the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience released 100,000+ Red Drum (known to many as Redfish) into the waterways near and in the area of the lab on February 9, 2022. Laboratory staff, volunteers and local boat captains participated in this initiative. Read More

On January 24th, Jessica Farrell, a graduate student advised by David Duffy, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Disease Genomics, successfully defended her Ph.D. entitled “Assessing Florida Sea Turtle Populations and their Fibropapillomatosis Tumor Pandemic”. Read More

The research done by Boyd and Kunselman in the Seaver Lab represent important early steps for understanding the basic biological principles of regeneration and restoring regenerative potential when and where it has been lost. Read More

Our very own Jesse Grosso, Research Administrator II, and Patrick Thompson, Operations Manager were nominated and selected through a very keen year of competition as Superior Accomplishment Awardees by the University of Florida! Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience continues Thursday, February 10, 2022, at 7 p.m. with author Cynthia Barnett’s latest program, “The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans.” Read More

If you missed our January Evenings at Whitney, The Plant Hunter: A Scientist's Quest for Nature's Next Medicines with Dr. Cassandra Quave, the YouTube link is below! Read More

Congratulations to Liao Lab Ph.D. student Elias Lunsford for winning the Best Student Paper competition at The Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) last week in the Division of Neurobiology, Neuroethology and Sensory Biology. Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital patient Avocado received her swimming papers and was released at Gamble Rogers State Park in Flagler County on January 4. Read More

Please welcome Anon Boonkerd, a visiting scholar, to the Whitney Laboratory! While at Whitney, Anon will be joining Dr. Sandra Loesgen’s lab and investigating fungal natural products, bioassays, and compound identification. Read More

The Whitney Laboratory is excited to announce the return of the Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series in spring 2022. The first lecture of the spring series will be Thursday, January 13, 2022, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “The Plant Hunter: A Scientist's Quest for Nature's Next Medicines”. Cassandra Quave, PhD, Herbarium Curator and Associate Professor of Dermatology and Human Health at Emory University, will be the speaker. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Loesgen and colleagues who recently published a paper in the special issue 'Pediatric Cancers' in the open access Journal Cancers entitled 'Altertoxin II, a Highly Effective and Specific Compound against Ewing Sarcoma'. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. James Liao and colleagues for the paper "Convergence of undulatory swimming kinematics across a diversity of fishes" published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The team includes past Liao Lab post doc Dr. Otar Akayeti, now faculty in Wales, as well as Liao's colleagues at Harvard, who looked at the swimming kinematics of 44 fishes and challenge assumptions on previous swimming locomotion. Read More

The paper, ""Development of the nervous system in the early hatching larvae of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi," is the analysis of nervous system evolution in ctenophores and other basal animal groups and is the major focus of the Moroz Lab. Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital patient Kiwi was released at Washington Oaks State Park on December 9. The release was shown live on the Sea Turtle Hospital's Facebook. Read More

If you love sea turtles, and want to help us in our efforts at the Sea Turtle Hospital, you can sponsor some of our current patients! On average a patients stay is anywhere between six months to 15 months and a lot goes into their devoted care. Essential items like medical supplies, medications, and food are able to be purchased by our sea turtle sponsorship program. Read More

Please welcome Amelia Bunnell to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Sandra Loesgen's Lab and Dr. James Strother's Lab as a laboratory technician. Read More

A new research paper was just published in Science by the Moroz lab (Prof. Leonid Moroz and Dr. Andrea Kohn) as a part of long-term collaboration with EMBL (Germany). The paper provides the first deciphering the genealogy of the main cell types in descendants of early animals such as sponges using single-cell sequencing and advanced bioinformatics. Unexpectedly, this research led to the discovery of a new cell type - Read More

On November 12, Alexandra M. Hernandez, a Ph.D. student working in the laboratory of Joseph Ryan, successfully defended her Ph.D. entitled “Unraveling Ctenophorology and its Implications on Early Animal Evolution". Read More

The Whitney Laboratory is hiring three postdocs and one technician to work on a cutting edge evolutionary neuroscience project studying neurogenesis and neural circuits in ctenophores. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory Ph.D. candidate Jessica Farrell for receiving the University of Florida International Certificate of Outstanding Merit at the 2021 International Student Achievement Award Ceremony on November 16, during International Education Week. Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital patient Grape was released at Marineland Beach, directly across the street from Whitney Lab on November 18. Grape is a small juvenile green turtle that was found buoyant and struggling to dive in St. Augustine at Camachee Cove Marina on March 18. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Elaine Seaver and Dr. Danielle de Jong who recently published a paper in Genes entitled ‘Regeneration in the Segmented Annelid Capitella teleta'. Read More

Please welcome Jocelyn Klucar, Research Administrator II to the Whitney Laboratory! Jocelyn will be helping our faculty with a portfolio of grants, post awards and submissions in concert with Jesse Grosso our current Research Administrator II. Read More

Last week 3.7 million red drum (Redfish) larvae were released in the Matanzas River as part of Whitney Lab's fish conservation efforts. Adult, breeding red drum were collected as part of the Dr. Jimmy Liao Lab's ongoing fish migration and conservation project. Read More

This week we celebrate those who give back to the Whitney Laboratory and the Gator Nation – Thank you for your support of Whitney’s people and programs! Read More

Congratulations to the Liao Lab who recently published a paper in PLOS Biology on the importance of the lateral line for efficient swimming entitled ‘Corollary discharge enables proprioception from lateral line sensory feedback'. Read More

Thank you to all who have joined us to support hundreds of washback sea turtles cared for by the Sea Turtle Hospital staff each year by Adopting a Washback, each symbolically named! Adoptions available until October 31. Read More

Fish release - round two! Two million red drum larvae went into the Indian River Lagoon this week with the help of Blair Wiggins Outdoors, Jamie Glasner, Star Brite Solutions, Fishbites, Retrax, Whitney Laboratory Osborne Lab members Dr. Todd Osborne, Sabrina Schofield and Norman Kolsch. Read More

Last week the Ibarra-Castro Lab (Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro, Dr. Samantha Koda and Maddie Morrison) and Osborne Lab (Dr. Todd Osborne and Sean Goggin) along with Whitney staff released red drum larvae into the Matanzas River close to the Whitney Laboratory. Read More

Through a private donation to the University of Florida Foundation an expedition will further launch UF Distinguished Professor Leonid Moroz’ research in functional marine genomics, including understanding neuronal evolution and biodiversity. Through a private donation to the University of Florida Foundation an expedition will further launch UF Distinguished Professor Leonid Moroz’ research in functional marine genomics, including understanding neuronal evolution and biodiversity. Read More

The Taste of the Fun Coast event at Hammock Beach Resort is tomorrow, October 26 - food, drinks and fun benefiting the Sea Turtle Hospital! Read More

TODAY is the day! It is your chance to virtually ADOPT A WASHBACK sea turtle to support the care of turtles! Click below to name a cute little washback - but pick your name and hurry, our campaign ends 10/31! Read More

Please welcome Tori Summers to Whitney Laboratory staff as the Sea Turtle Hospital's Animal Care Technician. Read More

Whitney Laboratory Director Dr. Mark Martindale talks with the St. Augustine Record about Porpita porpita or blue buttons, a colony of hydrozoan polyps that were recently appearing on St. John's County beaches. Read More

We would like to recognize our Hispanic/Latino/Latinx members of the Whitney community this month! Read More

The Whitney Laboratory is pleased to announce that Assistant Professor of Wildlife Disease Genomics and Rising Star Condron Family Endowed Assistant Professor Dr. David Duffy received a grant for $26,355 from the Florida Sea Turtle Grants Program, which is funded by the sales of the sea turtle specialty license plate. He received the grant for a project to study the health impacts of near-ubiquitous plastic ingestion in Florida’s young turtles. Read More

Whitney shirts are in! All proceeds benefit The Sea Turtle Hospital at UF Whitney Lab. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory Senior Director of Advancement Jessica Long for receiving the 2021 Outstanding Leadership Award in recognition of her years of dedication, leadership, and outstanding performance at UF CARES and within the HIV/AIDS community. Read More

Please welcome Mike Ramia to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined the facilities team as a maintenance professional. Read More

Thank you to our Whitney Laboratory Postdoctoral Associates, you really power the Whitney lab's research and efforts! We appreciate you! Read More

Congratulations to Dr. James Liao for his new National Science Foundation (NSF) Physics of Living Systems grant award: Schooling through vortex streets: a biological and computational approach to understanding behavior of wild fish Read More

Please welcome Dr. James Townsend to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. Mark Martindale's lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Jingwei Song to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. Christine Schnitzler's Lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Read More

Congratulations to Kelsey Yetsko, Jessica Farrell, Dr. David Duffy and their colleagues who recently co-published a paper titled 'Genotype data not consistent with clonal transmission of sea turtle fibropapillomatosis or goldfish schwannoma' in Wellcome Open Research. The paper involved researchers in the UK, US and Italy. Read More

Whitney Laboratory is pleased to announce that Judge Joe Boatwright has joined its Board of Trustees. Judge Joe Boatwright is a state court trial judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit in Florida, and has previously been assigned as an associate judge on Florida’s 4th and 5th District Court of Appeals. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro who recently published a paper titled "Effect of salinity on growth, survival, and serum osmolality of red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus" in Fish Physiology and Biochemistry. Fish used during the experiment were sourced from wild brood-stock spawned at the University of Florida and grown at Whitney Laboratory. Read More

Please welcome Sean Goggin to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. Todd Osborne's lab as a Laboratory Technician. Read More

Please welcome Amanda Yeo to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Christine Schnitzler's lab as a Post Bac Researcher. Read More

We are excited to announce that we will release Goya on Thursday, September 2 at 1 p.m. at the beach side of River to Sea Preserve Boardwalk (Marineland Beach) in the town of Marineland, Florida. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Samantha Koda to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. David Duffy's lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Read More

Congratulations to Liam Whitmore, Jessica Farrell, Kelsey Yetsko, Devon Rollinson Ramia, Dr. Brooke Burkhalter, Dr. David Duffy and their colleagues who recently published a paper titled 'Evolutionary Comparisons of Chelonid Alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) Genomes from Fibropapillomatosis-Afflicted Green (Chelonia mydas), Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) and Kemp’s Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) Sea Turtles' in Animals. Read More

After five months of treatment, recovery and rehab, Asparagus, a 32-pound juvenile green sea turtle, swam back into the ocean not far from where she was stranded in Flagler County in early spring. Read More

The Liao Lab's Red Drum Tagging Project in one of the 29 National Estuarine Research Reserves in the country was recently shared in the NERRdsontheWater Blog Post: Drumming up Data. Read More

In case you missed it - the St. Augustine Record recently featured Whitney's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program and shared some of the scientific research that was underway at the lab this summer. Read More

Drew worked with Dr. David Duffy this summer on genetic drivers of turtle fibropapillomatosis. Read More

Please welcome Sue Xu to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Christine Schnitzler's Lab as a Ph.D. Student. Read More

Registration and abstract submission are now open for the Sea Turtle Fibropapillomatosis Research Symposium 2021. The 2021 meeting will be held virtually on October 14 and 15, 2021. Read More

Congratulations to Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Sandra Loesgen who was awarded a new three year National Science Foundation (NSF) Award in collaboration with Dr. Virginia Weis. Read More

Palm Coast Observer Article - Whitney Laboratory Martindale Lab graduate student Dorothy Mitchell made a discovery while trying to take pictures of comb jellies with a microscope. Read More

Asparagus, a green sea turtle and the Hospital’s 1st release of 2021, was outfitted with a satellite transmitter and released from the beach on the border of St Johns and Flagler counties. Follow along on her incredible journey. Read More

Congrats to Loesgen Lab members Mahsa Khoshbakht (co-advised at OSU), Dr. Annika Jagels (Whitney Lab), and former Loesgen Lab members Jason Srey (undergraduate researcher) and Dr. Donovon Adpressa whose paper "Precursor-Directed Biosynthesis of Aminofulvenes: New Chalanilines from Endophytic Fungus Chalara sp." was recently published in Molecules. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Narges Mashkour to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. David Duffy's Lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. She joined the Duffy lab to continue working on the genetics behind FP and the possible roles of this papillomavirus. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Oh-Seok Kwon to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. Sandra Loesgen's Lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Read More

We are excited to announce that we will release Asparagus on Tuesday, July 20 at 12 p.m. at the beach side of River to Sea Preserve Boardwalk (Marineland Beach) in the town of Marineland, Florida. Prior to release, Asparagus will be fitted with a satellite tag from a partnership between the Sea Turtle Conservancy and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources! Read More

Please welcome Maddie Morrison to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Whitney's Fish Aquaculture Program with Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro as an Aquaculture Technician. Read More

We are excited to announce we are preparing for the in-person Evenings at Whitney fall lecture series to begin in September! Read More

Congratulations to the Loesgen Lab, who collaborative papers "Total Synthesis of Chalaniline B: An Antibiotic Aminoxanthone from Vorinostat-Treated Fungus Chalara sp. 6661" and "Comparative Genomics of Eight Fusarium graminearum Strains with Contrasting Aggressiveness Reveals an Expanded Open Pangenome and Extended Effector Content Signatures" were recently published. Read More

Please welcome Cody Miner to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. Mark Martindale's lab as a graduate student. Read More

Please join us to support the Sea Turtle Hospital by sponsoring the care of one of these current hospital patients. Your sponsorship can provide them with important medical supplies, nutritious food, critical exams and other types of care provided while at the Sea Turtle Hospital. Read More

Please welcome Steven Longmire to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. James Liao's lab as Lab Manager. Read More

Congratulations to Brent Foster who recently published an article in the Palm Coast Observer on the new research building plans at Whitney Laboratory. With the construction of the new building, Whitney Laboratory administrators and staff are responding to the nation’s growing demand to inspire and train STEM investigators, both young and old. Read More

Congratulations to Dorothy Mitchell, Dr. Allison Edgar and Dr. Mark Q. Martindale who recently published a paper in Frontiers in Zoology entitled ‘Improved histological fixation of gelatinous marine invertebrates'. They discovered that the commercial product used to treat automotive glass allows for thorough tissue fixation and morphological preservation of ctenophore and other delicate specimens. Read More

Emilia is spending a month interning in Dr. Mark Martindale’s Lab this summer, studying the early development stages of Cassiopea. Emilia notes “Having the opportunity to work in Dr. Mark Martindale’s lab at Whitney has not only taught me endless information about Cassiopea and Ctenophores, but also has given me a sneak peek into what a future career in Marine Sciences may hold.” Read More

An important species in the history of Whitney Laboratory research, Leonid Moroz, Ph.D. and Andrea Kohn, Ph.D. publish in Science Advances with key collaborators. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Allison Edgar, Dorothy Mitchell and Dr. Mark Q. Martindale who recently published a paper in Genes entitled ‘Whole-Body Regeneration in the Lobate Ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi’. Read More

Former Ph.D. graduate with Dr. Mark Martindale at Whitney Laboratory, Dr. Casandra Newkirk, recently received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology, in the area of Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. Read More

Congratulations to Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Sandra Loesgen who was awarded a new three year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. Read More

Welcome to the 2021 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) summer interns! Funded by the National Science Foundation, this year's summer program offers eight students the opportunity to participate in scientific research at Whitney Laboratory. Read More

An interdisciplinary team (Hoencamp et al. May 28, Science, 2021, including the University of Florida/Whitney Lab (Prof. Leonid L. Moroz and Dr. Andrea Kohn), reconstructed of twenty four genomes at three dimensional resolution (3D). Read More

Researchers from the Whitney Laboratory and the University of Florida Department of Chemistry identified a new molecule that could have medicinal purposes. Read More

Jessica Farrell, Dr. David Duffy and Liam Whitmore have a discussion of environmental DNA and RNA (eDNA and eRNA, respectively) and its potential for pathogen monitoring. Read More

Whitney Laboratory is pleased to announce that Anne Marie Moquin has joined its Board of Trustees. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. James Strother for his recent publication titled "Reduction of spherical and chromatic aberration in axial-scanning optical systems with tunable lenses" in Biomedical Optics Express. Read More

Join us for a physically distanced talk about everybody’s favorite endangered species, the sea turtle. Registration required. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney PhD student Jessica Farrell, Kelsey Yetsko and Dr. David Duffy for their article in Nature Portfolio Ecology and Evolution Community - Tracking an oncogenic sea turtle virus with eDNA. How to better understand the role of an oncogenic virus in driving a debilitating sea turtle disease? By applying genomics to sea turtle tumor tissues and environmental DNA (eDNA) to rehabilitation tank water. Read More

Congratulations to Sea Turtle Hospital Staff and Whitney Faculty and Students who recently published a paper titled "Environmental DNA monitoring of oncogenic viral shedding and genomic profiling of sea turtle fibropapillomatosis reveals unusual viral dynamics" in Communications Biology. Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital Program Manager Catherine Eastman talks with the St. Augustine Record about nesting season that began May 1 and what you can do to ensure turtles and their hatchlings stay safe as they come ashore to lay eggs. Read More

Congratulations to the Loesgen Lab, in collaboration with Dr. Jeffrey Rudolf, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Florida, and his lab for a paper titled "Discovery and biosynthesis of a structurally dynamic antibacterial diterpenoid." Read More

On March 9th, Elizabeth N. Kaweesa, a graduate student advised by Sandra Loesgen, Associate Professor of Chemistry, gave her Ph.D. defense seminar entitled “Screening and In Vitro Assessment of Cytotoxic Natural Products” and successfully earned her doctorate degree. Read More

Exclusive shirt design release! This Sunday is the last day for the Whitney Lab Virtual 5K early registration with the option to pick up your shirt at Whitney June 5. Don’t wait to register – Price increases Monday and only the first 125 registrants will receive a finisher medal too. All registrants will receive the inaugural shirt pictured. Read More

Dr. Danielle de Jong, Lab Manager of the Schnitzler Lab, was recently quoted in the Stat article, How Blackouts, Fires, and a Pandemic are Driving Shortages of Pipette Tips — and Hobbling Science. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney PhD Student Jessica Farrell who recently won an award for Outstanding PhD Oral Presentation at the The Dauphin Island Sea Lab Marine Science Graduate Student Symposium. Read More

If you missed our Sip 'N Science recently with Dr. Todd Osborne the webinar is now on our YouTube channel. Read More

Animals use various methods to create movement! Read More

Congratulations to Jessica Farrell, Dr. David Duffy and Liam Whitmore recently featured their research in The Conversation article, Environmental DNA – how a tool used to detect endangered wildlife ended up helping fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More

Dr. Sandra Loesgen was recently interviewed for the NPR article, UF Researchers Say Marine Products Show Promising Future In Medical Advancements Read More

Congratulations to Jessica Farrell, Dr. David Duffy and Liam Whitmore who recently published a paper titled "The Promise and Pitfalls of Environmental DNA and RNA Approaches for the Monitoring of Human and Animal Pathogens from Aquatic Sources" in Bioscience. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. David Duffy and colleagues who recently published a paper titled "A chemo-genomic approach identifies diverse epigenetic therapeutic vulnerabilities in MYCN amplified neuroblastoma" in Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. Read More

Join us for our inaugural Whitney Lab 5K - a virtual walk/run for marine science! Complete a 5K walk or run anywhere, anytime between May 30 - June 5 to celebrate the wonders of marine life with this year's featured animal - the green sea turtle! Read More

Join us on Earth Day for our April Webinar! Dr. Todd Osborne will share the current Indian River lagoon Clam Restoration initiative that combines proven aquaculture techniques with sound science to bring clams back into their role as water purifiers on Florida’s Space Coast. Read More

Students entering 5th, 6th or 7th grade in fall 2021 will experience the fun of science learning and discovery with plankton. Read More

Catherine Eastman and Taryn Chaya recently presented at this symposia that brings together the community and offers the opportunity to gain greater insight into the research, education and stewardship activities taking place throughout the GTM Research Reserve by their staff, partners and academic institutions. Read More

Another one bites the dust: Scientist in Flagler investigates how bacteria in the soil can help combat skin cancer Read More

Yamaha Rightwaters is teaming up with Skeeter Boats to provide a SX2250 center console boat with a 250-horsepower Yamaha V MAX SHO outboard to the University of Florida. Scientists in the University’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience will use the boat and outboard to conduct a study on redfish activities and numbers to gather better data on the species in Northern Florida. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Loesgen, who was recently featured in an article in GEO kompakt Magazine, Die Unterwasserapotheke, or Underwater Pharmacy. The article highlights the natural products community efforts to find new medications from marine sources. Read More

Take a closer look at tiny snails found in the estuary! Read More

Already this year, the hospital has cared for more than half of last year's case load. Read More

If you missed our Sip 'N Science recently with Dr. Elaine Seaver the webinar is now on our YouTube channel. Read More

On February 24 Sea Turtle Program Manager Catherine Eastman presented to a classroom of eager students from Rymfire Elementary as part of the Scientist in Every Florida School program. Her thirty minute talk focused on different species of sea turtles, how the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory treats sea turtle patients, and how sea turtles are unique reptiles. Read More

Join us for our March Webinar! Tracking animals has historically been a major focus throughout the millennia, whether for obtaining food or understanding environmental fluctuations, and much has been learned by merely watching. The same can be said about looking at small things, such as cells in an embryo. Dr. Elaine Seaver will give examples of important principles of normal embryo development by simply ‘watching’ cells move through space and time. Read More

Congratulations to current and former members of the Loesgen Lab who recently published a collaborative paper titled "Biodiversity, bioactivity, and metabolites of high desert derived Oregonian soil bacteria" in Chemistry and Biodiversity. Read More

Combing through science with comb jellies, at Whitney Laboratory - Allison Edgar, a post-doc at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, is researching the life cycle and regeneration abilities of these simple animals, also known as sea walnuts. Read More

Registration is now open for the 2021 Whitney Laboratory Fun with Plankton Summer Day Camp and Sea Turtle Summer Camp! Read More

New Whitney long and short sleeve shirts are now available in the online store to support the Sea Turtle Hospital at UF Whitney Laboratory. Read More

Have you ever seen a snail without a shell? Read More

Join together with the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience on Giving Day – your gift can directly impact our areas of greatest need. 2 Bits, 4 Bits, Every Bit Counts! Read More

If you missed our Sip 'N Science recently with Clark Morgan the webinar is now on our YouTube channel. Read More

Please welcome Mark McCauley, Ph.D. to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. Sandra Loesgen’s lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Read More

On February 9, Whitney participated in their second International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Global Women's Breakfast with 62 Countries to promote and celebrate Women and Diversity in Science. Thank you Dr. Sandra Loesgen and her lab for hosting again this year! Read More

Congratulations to the Loesgen Lab who recently published a collaborative paper titled "Transcriptomic, Protein-DNA Interaction, and Metabolomic Studies of VosA, VelB, and WetA in Aspergillus nidulans Asexual Spores" in mBio. Read More

Congratulations to Sea Turtle Hospital Staff and Whitney Faculty who recently published a paper titled "Molecular characterization of a marine turtle tumor epizootic, profiling external, internal and postsurgical regrowth tumors" in Communications Biology. Read More

Join us for our February Webinar! Clark will share the Whitney Lab's project of tracking and monitoring red drum fish movement and migration patterns in Northeast Florida. He will provide details of how acoustic telemetry is used to understand local fish habitat usage, and how this work is helping identify and protect critical spawning and nursery areas to impact conservation. Read More

Whitney's own Professor William E.S. Carr, PhD, the first UF Faculty at Whitney Laboratory has passed away. Dr. Carr received his PhD at Duke University, and was recruited by our first director Dr. Gurin, prior to the Whitney Laboratory opening. He served as our first faculty and helped develop the laboratory building plan and the idea of a biomedical research focus of Whitney Lab. He studied chemosensing and olfaction in spiny lobster, shrimp, and fish. Read More

Our new 13,000 gallon sea water cistern installation is in the final stretch! This will greatly improve our sea water system originally installed at Whitney Laboratory in 1974. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro who recently published a paper titled "Characterization of digestive enzymes during early ontogeny of white Snook (Centropomus viridis)" in Aquaculture. Read More

Congratulations to the Liao Lab for their collaborative research on the numerical simulation of fish swimming recently published in Scientific Reports. The paper is entitled ‘A numerical study of fish adaption behaviors in complex environments with a deep reinforcement learning and immersed boundary–lattice Boltzmann method’. Read More

Please welcome Erin Marshall to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Sandra Loesgen’s lab as a PhD Student. Read More

Learn all about Florida's state shell and largest marine snail! Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro who recently published a paper titled "Revision of the diagnostic characters of two morphologically similar snook species, Centropomus viridis and C. nigrescens (Carangiformes: Centropomidae)" in Zootaxa. Read More

Please welcome Kaylee Hargis to Whitney Laboratory as the Sea Turtle Hospital's Animal Care Technician. Kaylee Hargis grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and is a recent 2020 graduate from the University of Dayton. Read More

The Whitney Laboratory Research Experience for Undergraduate program (REU), funded by the National Science Foundation (Site Award 0648969), offers an exceptional opportunity for the motivated undergraduate to participate in scientific research. Read More

Join us for our January Webinar! Dr. Martindale will share the role of marine laboratories in discovery, animal evolution, and biodiversity. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Ferhat Karakas to Whitney Laboratory! He joins Dr. James Strother's lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Read More

Dr. Todd Osborne and the Indian River Lagoon Clam Restoration Team were recently featured in the Florida Today article - Transplanted 'super clams' thrive, sparking hope of cleansing gunked-up Indian River Lagoon. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro who recently published a paper titled "Advances in spotted rose snapper (Lutjanus guttatus, Steindachner, 1869) juveniles production" in Revista de Investigaciones Marinas. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney visiting researcher Dr. Hailey Craig, Dr. Todd Osborne and previous Osborne lab Postdoc Dr. Lorae Simpson who recently published a paper titled "Nitrogen addition alters composition, diversity, and functioning of microbial communities in mangrove soils: An incubation experiment" in Soil Biology and Biochemistry where they looked at N enrichment effects in mangrove soils. Read More

Happy Holidays from Whitney Laboratory! Thank you for being an important part of the Whitney Family. We appreciate your support of Whitney's mission as we continue our research, education and conservation efforts. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro who recently published a paper titled "A new efficient method for the mass production of juvenile spotted rose snapper Lutjanus guttatus" in Aquaculture Reports. Read More

If you missed our Sip 'N Science recently with Dr. Sandra Loesgen the webinar is now on our YouTube channel. Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital patient Edward Scissorhands returned to her ocean home on December 3, after one year of intensive and interesting care at the Sea Turtle Hospital. Edward Scissorhands was a social media favorite and captured the hearts of everyone who learned her unique story. Read More

Oceana recently published a report, "Choked, Strangled, Drowned: The Plastics Crisis Unfolding in Our Oceans," that included data from the Sea Turtle Hospital's recently published paper on Plastic Ingestion in Post-hatchling Sea Turtles. Oceana reveals for the first time the available data on marine mammals and sea turtles swallowing or becoming entangled in plastic in U.S. waters. Read More

Join us for our December Webinar! Dr. Sandra Loesgen will share the interesting origins of some of our current health care pharmaceuticals, and why her lab focuses on microscopic organisms, or microbes for drug discovery. We will then take a global journey with Dr. Loesgen to discover where the microbes they work with are found, along with their chemistry and how they could help human health. Read More

Congratulations to previous Loesgen lab members and Dr. Sandra Loesgen for a new paper titled ""Biolayer interferometry provides a robust method for detecting DNA binding small molecules in microbial extracts." Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital Program Manager Cat Eastman and Dr. David Duffy talk with First Coast News about sea turtle hatchlings that come to the hospital and what they have discovered in the First Coast News story. Read More

Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. James Strother's Manta Ray research is discussed in the Scishow series piece "How giant creatures eat tiny meals: filter feeders." Read More

If you missed our Sip 'N Science recently with Catherine Eastman the webinar is now on our YouTube channel. Read More

Take a closer look at cnidarians - find out which of our classroom critters belong to this group and some of their interesting characteristics. Read More

The Sea Turtle Hospital was recently featured in the Daytona News Journal article - Sea Turtle Hospital sees increasing number of injured turtles Read More

Elizabeth Kaweesa, Ph.D. Student in the Loesgen Lab, was recently a panelist at The American Society of Pharmacognosy's Diversity and Inclusion Committee Webinar - Fostering Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Scientific Research Groups Read More

The Sea Turtle Hospital was recently featured in the Palm Coast Observer article - Sea Turtle Hospital researches illness affecting green sea turtles. Read More

We are grateful gators! Thank you for all the ways you support and strengthen UF Whitney Laboratory’s Impact! Read More

Due to Eta storm bands/conditions we are receiving a lot of turtles and have to postpone tonight's talk to November 19 at 6 p.m. We hope to see you then! Catherine Eastman will be sharing our recent sea turtle stories and their care, and latest news from the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory. We will have an interactive Q & A after the update to discuss sea turtles and your questions about them. Come prepared with your sea turtle questions! Read More

On November 5th, Paige E. Mandelare, a graduate student advised by Sandra Loesgen, Associate Professor of Chemistry, gave her Ph.D. defense seminar entitled “Chemical Signaling in Marine Fungal and Coral Systems” and successfully earned her doctorate degree. Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital at UF Whitney Laboratory staff released a very special sea turtle November 4, 2020 at 12:56 p.m. “Richard Dawkins,” a mid-sized juvenile green sea turtle, the Hospital’s 36th patient of 2020, was outfitted with a satellite transmitter and released from the beach on the border of St Johns and Flagler counties. This is the first satellite tagged patient rehabbed from the Sea Turtle Hospital. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. James Strother, Assistant Professor of Biology at the Whitney Laboratory, who recently published a paper titled "Prolonged exposure to stressors suppresses exploratory behavior in zebrafish larvae" in the Journal of Experimental Biology. Read More

Thank you to Flagler Radio Beach 92.7 FM, Hammock Beach Resort and Coastal Cloud for benefiting the conservation of sea turtles and our Sea Turtle Hospital! Read More

The Whitney Laboratory's Inclusion Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee aims to foster inclusive policies and practices at the Whitney Lab that promote equity and diversity, and to make sure that the laboratory and its resources are accessible to students, employees, visitors, and volunteers. Read More

Thank you to all who have joined us to support hundreds of washback sea turtles cared for by the Sea Turtle Hospital staff each year by Adopting a Washback, each symbolically named! Adoptions available until Oct.31. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Danielle de Jong back to Whitney Laboratory! She joins Dr. Christine Schnitzler’s lab as lab manager and will work with members of the Schnitzler lab as they research various questions regarding regeneration and cell biology in the cnidarian, Hydractinia. Read More

TODAY is the day! It is your chance to virtually ADOPT A WASHBACK sea turtle to support the care of turtles! Click below to name a cute warrior washback - but pick your name and hurry, our campaign ends 10/31! Read More

Congratulations to the Liao Lab, who was recently featured in an article in Today's Science, "Trout go with the Flow (Sometimes)". The article was a write up of the lab's recent publication in the Journal of Experimental Biology, “Oxygen consumption of drift-feeding rainbow trout: the energetic tradeoff between locomotion and feeding in flow". Read More

Learn some interesting facts about one of our social classroom critters, the marine hermit crab. Read More

Learn more about what Dr. Leonardo Ibarra Castro and team are doing to improve fish aquaculture here in Florida and beyond! Read More

Please welcome Drew Smith to Whitney Laboratory! He joins the maintenance team as a maintenance mechanic and comes to us with a wide range of experience, from construction to electrical. Read More

If you missed our Sip 'N Science recently with Brenda Cannaliato the webinar is now on our YouTube channel. Read More

We are so excited for the funding awarded from the Sea Turtle Grants Program this year to purchase our spiffy new Sea Turtle Stranding and Transport Van. The van helps us with turtle transport, triage, and standings. We are very grateful for this year's grant from the Sea Turtle Grants Program. Read More

In their new publication entitled ‘Functional evidence that Activin/Nodal signaling is required for establishing the dorsal-ventral axis in the annelid Capitella teleta’, Dr. Lanza and Dr. Seaver used recently developed tools for embryos of the annelid Capitella to perturb the function of molecular signals that might be the organizing activity signal. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Annika Jagels, postdoctoral research associate in the Loesgen Lab, for receiving a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG). Read More

Join us for Whitney Animal Meet and Greet at our Next Sip 'N Science! We will be live sharing creatures from our lab's backyard, the Matanzas River Basin. Registration is required. We hope you can join us! Read More

If you missed our Sip 'N Science recently with Dr. James Liao here is the YouTube link below. We got great feedback from the participants and are looking forward to the next one! Read More

Congratulations to Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience, Genetics, Biology and Chemistry Dr. Leonid Moroz for receiving a $2+ millon grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his project titled: Development of neuron-specific nanoscale toolkits for single-cell recognition Read More

Recently retired Whitney Laboratory Professor of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Neuroscience, Microbiology & Cell Science, Entomology & Biology, Dr. Paul Linser, was featured in the St. Augustine Record. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney scientists Dr. Elaine Seaver and Dr. Mark Q. Martindale for their collaborative research recently published in Nature Communications. The paper is entitled ‘Genes with spiralian-specific protein motifs are expressed in spiralian ciliary bands’. Read More

Please welcome Assistant Professor of Wildlife Disease Genomics and Rising Star Condron Family Endowed Assistant Professor, Dr. David Duffy, to Whitney Laboratory! The Duffy Lab focuses on questions at the interface between wildlife and human health, with the aim of identifying disease mechanisms and novel therapeutic treatments. Read More

Please join us in celebrating Whitney Laboratory Postdocs and the contributions they make to the lab, U.S. research and discovery! Today we spotlight postdocs in the Schnitzler Lab. Read More

Please join us for in celebrating Whitney Laboratory Postdocs and the contributions they make to the lab, U.S. research and discovery! Today we spotlight a postdoc in the Loesgen Lab. Read More

Please join us in celebrating Whitney Laboratory Postdocs and the contributions they make to the lab, U.S. research and discovery! Today we spotlight postdocs in the Martindale Lab. Read More

Please welcome Daniel Groso to the Whitney Laboratory! Daniel joined Dr. Joseph Ryan's laboratory as an undergraduate researcher in May of 2020. Read More

Please welcome Dani Hayes to the Whitney Laboratory. Dani is working as a post-baccalaureate researcher in the Ryan Laboratory and is applying to Ph.D. programs for Fall 2021. She is broadly interested in phylogenetics and bioinformatics. Read More

Whitney Classroom Critters Spiny Sea Star and Chocolate Chip Sea Star Read More

Join us virtually as Whitney Laboratory scientists and educators share our research and animals. Please join us for Sip 'N Science - until we can get back together again! There will be a 20 minute webinar with a Q&A interactive discussion afterwards. Registration is required. We hope you can join us! Read More

Sea Turtle Hospital Program Manager Cat Eastman talks with News4Jax about discovering potentially harmful quantities of plastic in post hatchling turtles. Read More

Whitney Laboratory and IFAS have started a new collaboration. Dr. Maia McGuire, recently named Florida Sea Grant's new Associate Director of Extension and Education, and the APL for Coastal and Marine Extension for UF IFAS, now has her office on the Whitney Laboratory campus. Read More

Congratulations to Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Sandra Loesgen who was awarded a new three year National Science Foundation (NSF) Award: URoL: MTM 1: Chemistry of cnidarian symbiosis: microbiomes role in association, morphogenesis, and protection Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Christine Schnitzler for co-authoring a paper titled "The genetic basis for PRC1 complex diversity emerged early in animal evolution." Read More

Congratulations to Sea Turtle Hospital and Whitney Laboratory faculty and staff who recently published a paper in Frontiers in Marine Science on plastic ingestion by post-hatchlings. This research was also featured in an article in The Conversation. Read More

Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Christine Schnitzler for receiving a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her project titled: Characterizing the molecular regulators of stem cell populations during homeostasis and regeneration in Hydractinia, an emerging cnidarian research organism Read More

Sea Turtle Eugenie Clark was released August 20 on Facebook Live. Eugenie Clark is our first release of 2020 and her name is from our 5th year naming theme where we name turtles after marine scientists or scientists that specialized in marine organisms as part of their life's work. Read More

Congratulations to recent Whitney Ph.D. graduate, Dr. Alexis Lanza and Whitney Laboratory's Dr. Elaine Seaver who recently published a paper in EvoDevo titled “Activin/Nodal signaling mediates dorsal-ventral axis formation before third quartet formation in embryos of the annelid Chaetopterus pergamentaceus.” Read More

Join Amy from our education department as she shares some fun facts about cassiopea, or the upside down jellyfish! Read More

Congratulations to former Whitney PhD student Miguel Salinas-Saavedra for his recent publication in the journal eLife. While a graduate student in Mark Martindale’s lab, Dr. Salinas-Saavedra investigated the spatial distribution of members of the Par system in one of the most ancient groups of animals called ctenophores (or comb jellies). Read More

We are pleased to announce that Sean Crow has joined Whitney Laboratory as our new IT Manager. Sean will be managing and fulfilling information technology needs at the Lab. Read More

Congratulations to the Schnitzler Lab for their recently published paper in Scientific Reports titled "Gene knockdown via electroporation of short hairpin RNAs in embryos of the marine hydroid Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus." Read More

Dr. Todd Osborne talks with Florida Today about the Indian River Lagoon Clam Restoration Initiative and the recent planting of 56,000 baby clams in the IRL. Read More

Please welcome David Sparks to Whitney Laboratory! He joins Dr. James Liao’s lab as a Ph.D. student. Read More

Dr. Alexandrea Duscher, Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Schnitzler Lab, was recently interviewed for a St. Johns County Public Library online event. Find out all about the Whitney Laboratory and Dr. Duscher's research and role at the lab! Read More

Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro talks with First Coast News about Whitney Laboratory's new fish aquaculture start up in the story - Go Fish! Researchers work to restock red snapper in the wild. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Michael Layden of Lehigh University and Dr. Dave Q. Matus of Stonybrook University who recently earned tenure and promotion to Associate Professor at their universities. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Allison Edgar, postdoctoral research associate in the Martindale Lab, for receiving a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology from the National Science Foundation for the project titled: "Evolution of genomic regulatory control of ctenophore development and regeneration" Read More

Dr. David Duffy, Whitney Laboratory Assistant Professor of Wildlife Disease Genomics, and Dr. Jenny Whilde provide some perspective on pandemics and zoonotic diseases as they relate to human activities. Read More

Our essential staff keep us going in tough times! How the people of UF's Whitney Laboratory protected their animals — and each other — during COVID-19. Read More

Whitney Laboratory Director Dr. Mark Martindale talks with First Coast News and Whitney horseshoe crabs make their news debut! Read More

The University of Florida Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory is pleased to announce that it received a grant for $28,987.14 from the Florida Sea Turtle Grants Program, which is funded by the sales of the sea turtle specialty license plate. The Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory received the grant to support a new sea turtle transport vehicle. Read More

Whitney’s Clams Restoration was in action on Friday, June 26 at a project site in the Northern Indian River Lagoon. Nearly 60,000 clams were deployed, bringing to date almost two million clams that have been raised by Whitney Laboratory and deployed to help improve water quality! Read More

Congratulations to Dr. James Liao, who recently published a paper in Current Biology titled "An Algorithmic Approach to Natural Behavior." Read More

Congratulations to recent Whitney Ph.D. graduate Dr. Tracey Schafer and Whitney Laboratory's Dr. Todd Osborne who recently published a paper in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering titled "Impacts of Hurricane Disturbance on Water Quality across the Aquatic Continuum of a Blackwater River to Estuary Complex." Read More

We are pleased to announce that Whitney Faculty Dr. Joseph Ryan was granted promotion and tenure by the University of Florida Board of Trustees to Associate Professor of Biology. Read More

Tell your kids to grab their drawing kits and imaginary snorkels as guest host Dr. Mark Q. Martindale, Director of the UF Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, takes them on a tour through NOAA’s virtual dives of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Read More

Congratulations to Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Joseph Ryan for receiving a three year grant from the National Science Foundation for the project titled "Interrogating Molecular and Physiological Adaptations in Antarctic Marine Animals." Read More

We are so grateful for all the support you've given us and we hope you enjoy the next week starting with World Oceans Day on Monday and ending on World Sea Turtle Day next Tuesday. Join in on all the fun as we participate in daily themes on Facebook and Instagram to help raise awareness on the many challenges sea turtles face in the ocean today including a Sea Turtle Hospital Scavenger Hunt - details below! Read More

Chaetopterus pergamentaceus or ‘parchment tube worm' is an annelid worm present in local coastal habitats that the Seaver Lab studies. It lives its entire adult life inside a soft U-shaped tube that is mostly buried beneath the ocean floor, and only the tips of the tubes are directly exposed to sea water. Chaetopterus is a great example of leveraging biodiversity to understand human health related questions. Read More

Congratulations to recent Whitney Ph.D. graduate Dr. Newkirk, Whitney Laboratory's Dr. Martindale, Dr. Schnitzler, along with Dr. Thomas Frazer, Professor and Director of UF’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, who recently published a paper in the Frontiers in Microbiology titled "Adaptation to Bleaching: Are Thermotolerant Symbiodiniaceae Strains More Successful Than Other Strains Under Elevated Temperatures in a Model Symbiotic Cnidarian?" Read More

Congratulations to the Moroz Lab who recently published a paper in the Journal of Morphology titled "Mapping of neuropeptide Y expression in Octopus brains." Read More

Our goal is to build a new Marine Research Institute Building and the Nancy Condron Family Sea Turtle Research Center and Hospital that brings high-technology to the shores of UF Whitney Laboratory's valuable environmental location that produces world-class findings in marine bioscience and conservation. Read More

This award is presented annually to a UF faculty or staff member who has excelled in promoting diversity and inclusivity in the university environment through their positive interactions with others in graduate education. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Leslie Babonis of the Whitney Laboratory who recently accepted a tenure track faculty position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University beginning January 1, 2021. Read More

Whitney Laboratory and Center for Smell and Taste Distinguished Professor of Biology and Neuroscience, Dr. Barry Ache, has been granted emeritus status in recognition of meritorious service by the University of Florida. Read More

Thank you to Dr. Liz Watson, DVM MS DACVR of Veterinary Imaging in Flagler Beach who recently donated an ultrasound machine to the Sea Turtle Hospital, that the Sea Turtle staff named Eve. Read More

Thank you to Dr. Nicole Stacy and Dr. Sarah Wahltinez from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine for donating your research sea stars to our K-12 education program. Although we aren’t open to the public right now, care for our educational marine life continues daily. Read More

In response to COVID-19 and in order to promote the safety and wellness of our visitors, volunteers, students, faculty and staff, all of our public programs have been postponed until April 30th. We will reevaluate in April our public offerings for the community. Read More

We are pleased to share that Dr. Sandra Loesgen Lab's hand sanitizer has been distributed to volunteers at Whitney as well as some key locations around town that were in need. Read More

Would you like to journey through the Matanzas River and learn more about biodiversity with Tanzi the sea turtle? This interactive journey was made for 4-6 grade but adults can learn and enjoy too! Read More

Congratulations to Dr. David Duffy and Dr. Brooke Burkhalter who recently published a paper about rehabilitation of tumor-afflicted sea turtles, and their utilization as a natural model for human and wildlife cancers in Springer Nature titled "When is a lab animal not a lab animal?" Read More

Congratulations to the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory who was Beaver Toyota's WOW Partner of the Month for February! Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Marleen Klann and Dr. Elaine Seaver! Their recently published paper titled “Functional role of pax6 during eye and nervous system development in the annelid Capitella teleta” was nominated for the 2019 Developmental Biology Outstanding Paper Award. Read More

Due to unforeseen travel challenges due to COVID-19, tonight's Evenings at Whitney will be cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date. We apologize for the inconvenience. We look forward to seeing you soon! Read More

Congratulations to Sea Turtle Hospital Manager Devon Ramia who was recently featured in Unity College’s Alumni Stories. Read More

The Whitney Laboratory and Sea Turtle Hospital joined other organizations and partners in the Capitol Rotunda in Tallahassee for Florida Oceans Day on February 25, 2020. Read More

Please welcome Annika Jagels to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Sandra Loesgen’s lab as a postdoctoral research associate. Read More

Registration is now open for the 2020 Whitney Laboratory Marine Biology and Sea Turtle Summer Camps! Read More

Join together with the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience on Giving Day – your gift can directly impact our areas of greatest need. 2 Bits, 4 Bits, Every Bit Counts! Read More

The Whitney Laboratory Oyster Restoration Initiative is a community-based program to engage citizen scientists, advance our understanding of oyster ecology and restore local oyster habitats in our coastal ecosystem. Read More

On February 7, Tracey Schafer, a graduate student in the Osborne Lab gave her exit seminar entitled “Hurricane Impacts on Water Quality and Dissolved Organic Matter Cycling Along an Aquatic Continuum” and successfully earned her Ph.D. Read More

Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Biology at Whitney Laboratory, Dr. Christine Schnitzler, who co-authored a paper in Science Magazine titled "Transcription factor AP2 controls cnidarian germ cell induction." In this study, the authors found that a single gene, Transcription factor AP2 (Tfap2), is sufficient to induce germ cell identity when expressed in adult stem cells in the clonal cnidarian Hydractinia. Read More

Laurel Baker, jewelry designer and owner of St. Augustine's Anchor Boutique created an exclusive mini oyster necklace with sales of this necklace supporting Whitney Laboratory's Oyster Restoration Initiative. Read More

Congratulations to Alexis Lanza who won Best Student Oral Presentation for the Division of Evolutionary and Developmental Biology at this year’s Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology annual conference! The title of Alexis’s talk was "Activin/Nodal signaling is required for establishing the dorsal-ventral axis in Capitella teleta”. Read More

Alex Hernandez, a grad student studying comb jellies at Whitney Laboratory, was recently on Antonio Farias’ podcast Level Up. Are comb jellies the earliest animal on the Tree of Life? Tune in to find out! Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Loesgen, Associate Professor of Chemistry at the Whitney Laboratory, who recently published a paper about the chemistry of coral-algae recognition in Microbial Ecology titled "N-Linked Surface Glycan Biosynthesis, Composition, Inhibition, and Function in Cnidarian-Dinoflagellate Symbiosis." Read More

Sea Turtles Mars was released January 24 at River to Sea Preserve in the town of Marineland. Read More

Please welcome Brendan Gibbs to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. James Liao's lab as a laboratory technician who will be investigating sensory modulation of multiple stimuli in freely swimming fish. Read More

The next Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience will be February 13, 2020, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “The Human Cell Atlas Project – Mapping the Human Body Cell by Cell”. Gary Bader, Ph.D., Professor at The Donnelly Centre at the University of Toronto, will be the speaker. Read More

The Whitney Laboratory Research Experience for Undergraduate program (REU), funded by the National Science Foundation (Site Award 0648969), offers an exceptional opportunity for the motivated undergraduate to participate in scientific research. Read More

Join researchers, resource management agencies, and students for one and a half days of cutting-edge marine science – right next to the sea! Read More

UF Research recently featured the Sea Turtle Hospital in their magazine Explore. The article discusses fibropapillomatosis and how the viral disease is affecting sea turtles. Read More

Congratulations to Osborne Lab Manager Anna Thornton who was recently featured in Daytona State College Magazine's Alumni Profiles. Anna graduated from Daytona State College before transferring to Stetson University where she earned her BS in Marine Biology. Read More

This is UF's first FGBC certification. The Research Village has achieved the requirements in energy efficiency, resource conservation, health and durability. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Leonid Moroz, Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience, Genetics, Biology and Chemistry at the Whitney Laboratory, who recently published a paper in the Journal of Comparative Neurology titled "Atlas of the neuromuscular system in the Trachymedusa Aglantha digitale: Insights from the advanced hydrozoan." Read More

The next Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience will be January 9, 2020, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Multidisciplinary Approach to Quantify Behavior: From Fish Locomotion to Stroke Recovery”. Otar Akanyeti, Ph.D., Lecturer in Computer Science at Aberystwyth University, will be the speaker. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory Gator Grads Dr. Alexis Lanza and Dr. Casandra Newkirk. We wish you the best in your scientific career and further pursuits in science! Read More

Please welcome Lauren Kunselman to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Elaine Seaver's lab as a graduate student. Read More

The next Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience will be December 12, 2019, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “From Penguins to Plankton – The Dramatic Impacts of Climate Change on the Antarctic Peninsula”. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory Ph.D. candidate Jessica Farrell and recent Ph.D. graduate Alexis Lanza for receiving the University of Florida International Certificate of Excellence at the 2019 International Student Achievement Award Ceremony on November 19. Read More

We are grateful gators! Thank you for all the ways you support and strengthen UF Whitney Laboratory’s Impact! Read More

Alexis graduated with a PhD in Zoology from the College of Arts and Sciences, and defended her dissertation on Halloween Day. The title of Alexis’s dissertation is ‘Insights into the role of TGF-beta superfamily signaling in annelid dorsal-ventral axis formation’. Read More

On October 28th, Casandra Newkirk, a graduate student co-advised by Tom Frazer, Professor and Director of UF’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, (and the State of Florida’s first Chief Science Officer), and Mark Q. Martindale, Professor and Director of the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, gave her exit seminar entitled “Experimental system for the ecological and cellular study of cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis” and successfully earned her Ph.D. Read More

Want to purchase some Whitney Laboratory or Sea Turtle Hospital merch? Our online store is now open! Every purchase helps support the care of our sea turtles. Read More

Please welcome Cassidy Manzonelli to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Christine Schnitzler's lab as a lab technician. Read More

Sea Turtles Autumn and Dumbo were released October 16 at River to Sea Preserve. Autumn came to us on the first day of fall after stranding in Huguenot Memorial Park. Dumbo came to us on Sunday, September 29th after a fisherman caught him on hook and line. Read More

The next Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience will be November 14, 2019, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Gene Therapy of Retinal Degeneration: What We Can Learn by Listening to the Biology of the Eye”. Read More

Thank you to the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners for the October 2019 proclamation recognizing Whitney Laboratory for its partnerships with St. Johns County and its efforts to study and protect marine life. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Mark Martindale and Julia Ramon, who recently published a paper in BMC Biology titled "Regeneration in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi occurs in the absence of a blastema, requires cell division, and is temporally separable from wound healing." Read More

Congratulations to the Sea Turtle Hospital team, Veterinarian Brooke Burkhalter, Dr. Mark Martindale and Dr. David Duffy on their recent paper "Behaviour of juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) before and after fibropapillomatosis tumour removal" in Testudo. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Loesgen, Associate Professor of Chemistry at the Whitney Laboratory, who recently published a paper in the Journal of Natural Products titled "Polyketides from Marine-Derived Aspergillus porosus: Challenges and Opportunities for Determining Absolute Configuration." Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Christine Schnitzler and Dr. Elaine Seaver for recently receiving National Science Foundation Enabling Discovery through Genomic Tools (EDGE) Program Awards. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Radim Zidek to Whitney Laboratory! Radim joins the Martindale Lab as a Research Scholar where he will investigate the formation of body axes in cnidarians, acoels and other early branching marine invertebrates in order to achieve better understanding of the evolution of animal body plans. Read More

Animals use their eyes to detect light. How do eyes develop? Are there similarities in how eyes develop in different animals? The Seaver lab recently published a paper investigating for the first time the role of a gene called pax6 in eye development in the marine worm Capitella teleta. Read More

Please welcome Assistant Professor of Biology, Dr. James Strother, and his lab to Whitney Laboratory! The Strother Lab is interested in questions at the interface between neurobiology and physiology using fishes as model organisms. His lab focuses on understanding processes at multiple levels of organization, from the properties of individual cells to the responses of the whole animal. Read More

Please welcome Associate Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Sandra Loesgen, and her lab to Whitney! The Loesgen Lab is focused on understanding the diversity and bioactivity of the chemicals produced by microorganisms, with an emphasis on compounds with medical applications. They employ a multi-disciplinary approach to isolate compounds produced by under-explored groups of microorganisms, and identify chemicals with anticancer, antibacterial, or antiviral activity. Read More

The next Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience will be October 10, 2019, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Of Viruses That Cause Cancer, and Genes That Do Not Make Proteins”. Rolf Renne, Ph.D., Professor at the University of Florida, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, will discuss how human viruses and specifically herpesviruses contribute to a wide range of human cancers. Read More

This fall fundraiser benefits UF Whitney Laboratory’s K-12 Education Program, which focuses on STEM Education for students from seven area counties, including the Putnam 3rd Grade Initiative. Whitney Laboratory researchers will share some amazing marine creatures and discuss research at the lab while guests tour the St. Johns River Center! Read More

Please welcome Katie Feerst to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Elaine Seaver's lab as a lab technician. Read More

Please welcome Brent Foster to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. Mark Martindale's lab as a lab technician. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. James Liao who was recently featured in Hakai Magazine, as part of their Coastal Jobs Series. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Lexi Duscher to Whitney Laboratory! Dr. Duscher joins Dr. Christine Schnitzler's lab where she looks forward to expanding her molecular and microscopy skills using the Hydractinia model system and potentially focusing on the immune system’s involvement in stem cell regeneration. Read More

For a recent Nease high school graduate, the summer of 2019 was spent immersed in marine research at the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience. Mackenzie Simon-Collins, who will attend Johns Hopkins University in the fall, received the Whitney Laboratory’s Cliff Townsend Family Scholarship. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Allison Edgar to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Mark Martindale's lab where she will work with a variety of marine invertebrates to examine the evolution of gene expression in early development. Read More

Please welcome Shawn Ashley to Whitney Laboratory! Shawn is Whitney Lab’s new maintenance mechanic. Read More

Please welcome Research Assistant Scientist Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro to Whitney Laboratory! Dr. Ibarra will be working toward developing Whitney's Marine Hatchery Program. Read More

Congratulations to Jennifer Ortiz for being selected as the 2019 Whitney Laboratory REU Program’s poster contest winner. Jennifer worked with Dr. Joseph Ryan, assistant professor of biology at Whitney Laboratory, this summer during the program. Read More

Congratulations Caleb Bostwick of the Leonid Moroz Laboratory for completing your PhD! Caleb graduated with a PhD in Biomedical Sciences with Neuroscience Concentration and did his research in Leonid Moroz’ Lab at Whitney Laboratory. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series returns for the fall season on September 12 at 7 p.m. with the program “Wonderful Wooden Wrecks and the Mysteries Within” presented by Brendan Burke, Associate Director of Archaeology at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. Read More

Open to all scientific disciplines, this student and post-doc symposium will be held Saturday, September 21, 2019, at the UF Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience in St. Augustine, Florida. Enjoy a Saturday filled with casual research discussion and presentations, friendly competition, sunshine, tours, and the beach. Read More

In a study appearing in Science, Christine Schnitzler, Assistant Professor of Biology, Whitney Lab, UF, and her colleagues from the University of California-Davis and Harvard University used single-cell sequencing techniques to explore the genetic trajectory for nearly 25,000 Hydra cells. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory's Dr. Joseph Ryan for his recent publication in Gigascience. A international collaboration involving 8 institutions led by Joseph Ryan at the Whitney Laboratory describes sequencing and analyses of genomes of three disparate jellyfish species: a box jellyfish (Alatina alata), a stalked jellyfish (Calvadosia cruxmelitensis), and an upside down jellyfish (Cassiopea xamachana). Read More

We are pleased to announce that Amy Biedenbach has joined Whitney Laboratory as our new Education Program Coordinator. Read More

Please welcome Taryn Chaya to Whitney Laboratory! Taryn recently joined Dr. Todd Osborne’s lab, working on a master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Ecology. She will be working on the iCoast project, maintaining the advanced water sensors in the intracoastal, while collecting and analyzing the ensuing data. Read More

The Whitney Laboratory's Traveling Zoo School Program has a new van thanks to a generous donation! The Traveling Zoo school program takes a suite of marine animals to local K-3 classes. Read More

Sea Turtle Mantis was released Tuesday July 16 at Wilbur-by-the-Sea in Volusia County. Mantis was recovered on the beach of Ponce Inlet and came to us with a very interesting story. Read More

The Carl and Marcella Matthaei Ecological Scholarship Fund at the Whitney Laboratory provides support for University of Florida scientists-in-training to have access to the Matanzas River Basin, where they can engage in its biodiversity, ecology, and conservation. Read More

How do bigger fish attack and capture smaller fish? Or for that matter, your fishing lure? The Liao Laboratory, in collaboration with colleagues at UC Irvine, set out to investigate and found that local predatory bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) cannot anticipate intercepting their fleeing prey, mudminnows (Fundulus heteroclitus). Read More

The UF Office of Research recently featured the iCoast Initiative in their magazine Explore. Explore Magazine engages readers in the journey of scientific discovery, scholarship and creativity at the University of Florida. Read More

Dr. Brooke Burkhalter, Sea Turtle Hospital Veterinarian, and colleagues recently published the book, Laser Surgery in Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Burkhalter and Dr. Terry Norton authored the chapter "Laser Surgery in Aquatic Animals (Sea Turtles)" in Part IV Laser Surgery in Exotics Species. Read More

Kadarius was released back home to the Atlantic Ocean on June 27th at Gamble Rogers State Park. Kadarius was recovered by a fisherman who found him floating in Ponce Inlet on January 24th, 2018. Read More

We are pleased to announce that Whitney Faculty Dr. Todd Osborne was granted promotion and tenure by the University of Florida Board of Trustees to Associate Professor of Biogeochemistry. Read More

Congratulations to the Seaver Lab for the recent paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B titled "CRISPR/CAS9 mutagenesis of a single r-opsin gene blocks phototaxis in a marine larva." Read More

Please welcome Clark Morgan to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. James Liao's lab as a research technician and will be leading the red drum acoustic telemetry project, which will focus on investigating migration and habitat utilization patterns of adult red drum in St. Augustine waters. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Jimmy Liao for recently receiving a UF Office of Research Award. Two out of only fifteen funded UF Office of Research awards were made to Whitney Laboratory faculty's research - both awards are collaborative with other colleges on campus! Read More

The Whitney Laboratory Sea Turtle Hospital along with Sea Turtle Conservancy will hold Sea Turtle Discovery Day at the Whitney Laboratory on Saturday, June 15. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory’s newly elected graduate student officers. We hope it is a successful year for the Whitney Graduate Student Association! Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Mark Martindale and Dr. Christine Schnitzler for recently receiving a UF Office of Research Award. Two out of only fifteen funded UF Office of Research awards were made to Whitney Laboratory faculty's research - both awards are collaborative with other colleges on campus! Read More

Please welcome Collin Blakney to Whitney Laboratory. Collin is Whitney Lab’s new maintenance mechanic. Read More

The University of Florida Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory is pleased to announce that it received a grant starting in May for $16,695 from the Florida Sea Turtle Grants Program, which is funded by the sales of the sea turtle specialty license plate. Read More

Welcome to the 2019 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) summer interns! Funded by the National Science Foundation, this year's summer program offers seven students the opportunity to participate in scientific research at Whitney Laboratory. Read More

Please welcome Gianna Stewart back to Whitney Laboratory! Gianna will be assisting with animal husbandry and other lab tasks for the Seaver Lab this summer. Read More

Dr. Elaine Seaver was recently photographed in her lab as part of Savannah College of Art and Design student Emerson Scheerer's ongoing series entitled, “Women,” featuring environmental portraits of women of power. Read More

The University of Florida Whitney Laboratory will hold a special Evenings at Whitney on Thursday, June 13, 2019. As part of Whitney’s World Sea Turtle Week events, Whitney Laboratory will show the movie, “A Plastic Ocean”, in the Lohman Auditorium with a panel discussion to follow. This Evenings at Whitney will have an earlier start time of 6 p.m. Read More

Take a look at our one million babies! We are raising special brood clam stock to help restore the Indian River Lagoon with our partners. Read More

Please welcome graduate student Dorothy Mitchell to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Mark Martindale's lab where she is investigating stem cell development in relation to reproduction and regeneration in Mnemiopsis leidyi. Read More

Dr. Christine Schnitzler, Assistant Professor of Biology at the Whitney Laboratory recently published the article "What makes a jellyfish" in Nature Ecology & Evolution. Read More

We are starting our solar journey! The first Whitney Research Village Cottage, the Trustee Cottage (Jellyfish Residence), now has solar. We hope to have all solar cottages by next year. Read More

Prior to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' press conference, Ph.D. candidate Casandra Newkirk of the Whitney Laboratory Martindale lab and other UF student researchers participated in a roundtable discussion with Governor DeSantis and UF President Kent Fuchs. Read More

Whitney Laboratory is pleased to announce that Eric Cochran has joined its Board of Trustees. Read More

Holly stranded in Ponce Inlet in Volusia County during the holiday season, which led this sea turtle to be named Holly. Upon arrival to the Sea Turtle Hospital, Holly was a cold stun and suffering from a mild case of fibropapillomatosis. Read More

On March 23 Whitney Laboratory showcased the Matanzas Biodiversity Journey Touchscreen that was created by the Whitney Laboratory and installed at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium in West Palm Beach. Over 65 people attended and speakers included Dr. James Liao, Dr. Mark Martindale, Leslie Randolph, Lew Crampton and Jessica Long. Thank you to Leslie and Skip Randolph and the event committee for a great welcome in Palm Beach County! Read More

Whitney Laboratory is seeking volunteers to become oyster gardeners as part of the lab’s oyster restoration initiative. Gardeners will grow, maintain and record data on their oyster habitats for one year, then return the oysters to the lab for use in restoration projects. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience returns on May 9, 2019, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Florida and Water: A History.” Steven Noll, master lecturer at the University of Florida in the Department of History, will talk about the relationship between humans and water throughout Florida history. Read More

The Museum of Science & History (MOSH) in Jacksonville is now displaying a “Florida’s Deadliest Insects” panel exhibit that gets up close and personal with mosquitoes in their larval and adult stages and discusses how they transmit such disease-causing viruses as West Nile and Zika. Read More

Please welcome Phil Cubbedge, who joins the Whitney Laboratory to assist with oyster and clam restoration projects. Read More

Hartley was found floating in the Indian River Lagoon, unable to completely dive due to buoyancy issues. Upon arrival, this sea turtle had a severe case of FP tumors on both eyes, both front flippers, neck, shell and had a thin body condition. Read More

Please welcome Ashley Taylor to Whitney Laboratory as the Sea Turtle Hospital's Veterinary Technician. She graduated from Hawaii Pacific University with a bachelor’s degree in marine biology. Read More

Please welcome Briana Schaffner to Whitney Laboratory as the Sea Turtle Hospital's Animal Care Technician. She received a Bachelor’s of Science in Biological Sciences from Florida Atlantic University with a concentration in pre-veterinary medicine. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience returned on April 11, 2019, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “A Deep Dive Into the Past, Present and Future of Sea-Level Rise Along the Florida Coast.” Andrea Dutton, associate professor at the University of Florida in the Department of Geological Sciences, talked about sea-level rise and the long-term and short-term future of the Florida coastline. Read More

Registration is now open for the 2019 Whitney Laboratory Marine Biology and Sea Turtle Summer Camps Read More

The UF Whitney Laboratory Sea Turtle Hospital discusses sea turtle strandings and what you can do on Action News Jax. Read More

We are pleased to announce that Emily Gordon has joined Whitney Laboratory as our new development coordinator. Read More

Whitney Lab represented at TEDx in Gainesville at the CADE museum. In the session, Modern Explorers Graduate Student Jessica Welpley and Associate Professor James Liao led roundtable discussions on what it means to be an explorer in science. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. David Duffy, courtesy faculty at Whitney Lab, and Dr. Mark Martindale, director and professor of biology at Whitney Lab, for their recent publication in Communications Biology titled “Perspectives on the expansion of human precision oncology and genomic approaches to sea turtle fibropapillomatosis.” Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience returned on March 14, 2019, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Resilience and Restoration of Coastal Ecosystems in a Changing Climate.” Christine Angelini, assistant professor in environmental engineering sciences at the University of Florida, talked about the valuable services that vegetated coastal ecosystems - marshes, mangroves and sand dunes - as well as oyster reefs provide to the overall environment. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Leonid Moroz and the Moroz Lab for two recent publications in The Journal of Comparative Neurology. Read More

We are pleased to announce that Christine Brennan has joined Whitney Laboratory as our new IT Professional. Read More

Holly Keepers, one of our summer interns, shared about her experience here at Whitney Lab in a blog post. During her time at Whitney Lab, Holly studied hermit crab behavior and how the hermit crabs were affected by noise pollution. Read More

Whitney supporters, public officials and the University Florida Provost Dr. Joseph Glover joined the UF Whitney Laboratory faculty, students and staff on Dec. 8, 2018, at a ribbon cutting for the new Whitney Research Village. The Whitney is a research institute of the University of Florida established in 1974 on the shores of the intracoastal waterway on the border of St. Johns and Flagler counties. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience returned on Feb. 14, 2019, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Saving an Endangered Species: The Life and Lore of the Sturgeon.” Frank Chapman, associate professor of the Program in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences at the University of Florida, talked about the unique characteristics of the sturgeon, a species of fish that has been in existence for more than 160 million years. Read More

This Thursday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. at Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College, Whitney Laboratory will be tabling and supporting a free event to kick off the St. Augustine Film Festival. Read More

Whitney Laboratory is pleased to announce that Mark McGowan has joined its Board of Trustees. Read More

Join the Gamble Rogers Concert Series for this event at the Whitney Laboratory Lohman Auditorium on Jan. 19, 2019, at 7 p.m. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience returned for the spring season on Jan. 10, 2019, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Engineering 'Selfish' Genes in Mice: Benefits and Risks.” Read More

This year staff and researchers of the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab were proud to present at the Florida Keys Sea Turtle Workshop held the first weekend in December. Read More

Please welcome Alicia Boyd to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Elaine Seaver’s lab to study regeneration in Capitella teleta. Read More

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Whitney Research Village Ribbon Cutting - Grand Opening on Dec. 8, 2018. This project of six sustainably built cottages supported by the Florida Legislature, private donors and the University of Florida expands our campus by 24 beds. Read More

Congratulations to the Liao Lab for the recent paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology titled “Head width influences flow sensing by the lateral line canal system in fishes.” Read More

It’s Gators Give Thanks Day! Thank you for all the ways you support and strengthen UF Whitney Laboratory’s impact! Read More

The fall Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience returned on Dec. 13, 2018, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Ecosystem Challenges in Florida: The Diadema Story (A Case Study…).” Ruth Francis-Floyd, professor and extension veterinarian of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Program in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences at the University of Florida, talked about the complex challenges of assessing health in Florida’s changing ecosystems. Read More

We are pleased to announce that Gail White has joined Whitney Laboratory as our new events coordinator. Read More

Whitney Laboratory is pleased to announce that Danielle Fraser has joined its Board of Trustees. Read More

We have a new instrument here at Whitney Laboratory! The Atlas CPS+ is an all-wave solar simulator that allows us to simulate natural sunlight in the laboratory and manipulate the different portions of the spectrum for experimental purposes. Read More

The Whitney Lecture, an annual science event hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, brings renowned scientists to St. Augustine and Gainesville to share significant research and contributions to society. This year’s topic took a deep look at the discoveries of science and how simple but important questions matter for human health and the health of the planet. The St. Augustine lecture took place on Nov. 15, 2018, at 7 p.m. at Whitney Laboratory. The Gainesville lecture took place on Nov. 16, 2018, at noon at the University of Florida McKnight Brain Institute DeWeese Auditorium. Read More

A UF News story titled “UF launches bold initiative to tackle society’s biggest problems,” shares about the University of Florida’s goal of improving life today through this initiative that involves comprehensive research and collaboration. Whitney Laboratory is involved in one of the initiative's projects. Read More

This fall fundraiser benefits UF Whitney Laboratory’s K-12 Education Program, which focuses on STEM Education for students from seven area counties, including the Putnam 3rd Grade Initiative. Whitney Laboratory researchers will share some amazing marine creatures and discuss research at the lab while guests tour the St. Johns River Center! Read More

New date! Please join us for an Open Studio Exhibit with artist Jenna Alexander on Nov. 8 from 5-8 p.m. The event will benefit the Whitney Laboratory Oyster Restoration Initiative. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Fredrik Hugosson to Whitney Laboratory! Fredrik is a molecular biologist whose main research interest is to understand cell signaling during development. Read More

Become an oyster gardener! The University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience is seeking volunteers to become oyster gardeners as part of the lab’s oyster restoration initiative. Read More

The Oct. 11, 2018, lecture in the fall Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience took place at 7 p.m. and was titled “Many Ways to Regenerate: Cell Fate Plasticity and Migratory Stem Cells in Marine Hydroids.” Christine Schnitzler, assistant professor of biology at Whitney Laboratory, talked about her work that looks at the multiple ways marine hydroids, small colony-forming invertebrates that commonly grow as polyps, regenerate or regrow tissues. Read More

Congratulations to Jessica Whelpley, graduate student at Whitney Laboratory, for being highlighted in the article titled Fearless Science by UF News. Read More

Congratulations to Casandra Newkirk, graduate student at Whitney Laboratory, and Mark Martindale, director at Whitney Laboratory, on the recently published paper in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. Read More

Congratulations to Robie Carrascosa who served as the Cliff Townsend High School Scholar at Whitney Laboratory this summer. Read More

The Carl and Marcella Matthaei Ecological Scholarship Fund at the Whitney Laboratory provides support for University of Florida scientists-in-training to have access to the Matanzas River Basin, where we can engage in its biodiversity, ecology and conservation. Read More

A recent article in Nature titled What is a Lab Animal? shares information about using marine models and ctenophores in research. Read More

Seafoam and Gene Johnson, patients of the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory, were released back home to the Atlantic Ocean on August 14, 2018. Read More

Please welcome Ricky Morais to Whitney Laboratory! Ricky is Whitney Lab’s new nighttime custodial worker. Read More

Congratulations to Todd Osborne, assistant professor of biogeochemistry at Whitney Laboratory, for being selected as a 2018 University of Florida Water Institute Faculty Fellow. Read More

Congratulations to Alex Wyeth for being selected as the 2018 Whitney Laboratory REU Program’s poster contest winner. Read More

The graduate students of the UF Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience would like to invite you to our sixth annual Science by the Shore Symposium (formerly biology at the beach), which is open to all scientific disciplines. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned for the fall season on Sept. 13, 2018, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Sharks and Rays on the Brink - Half a Billion Years of Innovation Under Threat.” Read More

Congratulations to the Martindale Lab for the recent article published in eLife titled “Germ layer specific regulation of cell polarity and adhesion gives insight into the evolution of mesoderm.” The authors are Miguel Salinas-Saavedra, graduate student at Whitney Laboratory, Amber Rock, REU 2016 Whitney Laboratory summer intern and Choose Development! Fellow from the Society of Developmental Biology, and Mark Martindale, director at Whitney Laboratory. Read More

The work by the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory team was featured in an article by UF at Work. The article is titled “The Whitney Lab Sea Turtle Hospital: Helping some of Florida’s endangered residents heal and head back home.” Read More

Justin joins Whitney Lab as a PhD student in Dr. Christine Schnitzler’s lab. His research will focus on stem cells and regenerative biology using Hydractinia as a model system. Read More

Mark Martindale, director and professor of biology at Whitney Lab, and Miguel Salinas-Saavedra, graduate student at Whitney Lab, recently published a paper in Nature’s Protocol Exchange. Read More

Congratulations to James Liao and Otar Akanyeti for authoring the paper titled “Behavior, Electrophysiology and Robotics Experiments to Study Lateral Line Sensing in Fishes.” Read More

An article written by Jessica Farrell, graduate student here at Whitney Lab, was written for The Conversation and picked up by Smithsonian.com. Read More

Have you ever wondered what a day is like working in one of the labs at Whitney Laboratory? Read More

Cnidofest 2018: The Cnidarian Model Systems Meeting is scheduled for Sept. 6-9, 2018, at Whitney Laboratory. Registration is now open until Aug. 1. Abstracts are due July 15. Read More

We are pleased to announce that Patrick Thompson has joined Whitney Laboratory as our new operations manager. Patrick will be managing our fiscal, human resources and other key operations and planning responsibilities for the lab. Read More

Whitney Laboratory is pleased to announce that Roxane R. Kennedy has joined its Board of Trustees. Kennedy brings extensive experience to the board while also being a fellow Gator, graduating from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. Read More

There’s a new walkway on the Whitney Laboratory campus that now connects the lab building, Sea Turtle Hospital buildings and Center for Marine Studies (CMS) building. Read More

The article titled “Spirit of the Deep Blue Sea” by University of Florida Advancement shares the story of Nancy Condron, a Florida Gator, and her continued support of Whitney Laboratory and the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory. Read More

The Ryan Lab published the paper titled "Horizontally transferred genes in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi" today in PeerJ. Read More

Mark Martindale, director at Whitney Laboratory, spoke at the inaugural Regenerative Medicine UF Summit on June 15, 2018, at the Harrell Medical Education Building. Read More

The University of Florida Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory is pleased to announce that it received a grant starting in May for $20,581 from the Florida Sea Turtle Grants Program, which is funded by the sales of the sea turtle specialty license plate. Read More

The spring Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory concluded on June 14, 2018, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Emerging Research and Conservation of Sea Turtles - in Honor of World Sea Turtle Day.” With a nod to World Sea Turtle Day on the Saturday following the lecture, a panel of experts on sea turtle research and conservation provided an interactive lecture. Read More

Cutting-edge research by Dr. David Duffy, courtesy faculty at Whitney Laboratory and former postdoc in the Martindale Lab, and the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory team has been covered by multiple publications, including UF News and Science. Read More

In a recent study "in press" in the journal Developmental Biology, the Seaver Lab investigated the germline in the marine annelid worm Capitella teleta. Read More

A Seaver Lab article is featured on the cover of the journal Regeneration! The Seaver lab was invited to provide an image from its recently published article. Read More

Welcome to the 2018 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) summer interns! Funded by the National Science Foundation, this year's summer program offers nine students the opportunity to participate in scientific research at Whitney Laboratory. Read More

Congratulations to Jessica Farrell, graduate student in the Martindale Lab, for receiving a Friends of Gumbo Limbo Gordon Gilbert Graduate Research Grant. Read More

The Martindale Lab's work was recently published in Nature Communications. Read More

Congratulations to the Seaver Lab for its paper published in the recent issue of Developmental Biology. Read More

Congratulations to Jessica Whelpley, graduate student in the Ryan Lab, for receiving a University of Florida Biodiversity Institute Graduate Fellowship. Read More

Congratulations to Miguel Salinas-Saavedra, graduate student in the Martindale Lab, for being awarded travel funds from the University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for a talk he will be giving at the European Evo-Devo meeting in Galway, Ireland this June. Read More

We are pleased to announce that Tater Tot was released on Wednesday, May 2, 2018, at 12 p.m. at the River to Sea Preserve public beach. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Todd Osborne, assistant professor of biogeochemistry at Whitney Lab, for receiving the Excellence Award for Assistant Professors of the University of Florida. A four-member committee reviewed the nominations, and the honor was awarded based on quality and innovativeness of the research. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Camille Enjolras to Whitney Laboratory! Camille is a geneticist and developmental biologist whose main research interest is to better understand animal biology. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Gonzalo Quiroga Artigas to Whitney Laboratory! Gonzalo is a developmental biologist whose main research interest is animal regeneration and its evolution. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on May 10, 2018, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Ex Uno Plures and E Pluribus Unum: Competition and Collaboration in the Microbial World.” Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Lab Graduate Students Casandra Newkirk (IFAS, Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences program) and Bailey Steinworth (CLAS, Department of Biology) for their contribution to a new paper, “Upside-Down but headed in the Right Direction: Review of the Highly Versatile Cassiopea xamachana System,” published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (vol 6, 35). Read More

Congratulations to Adam Pacetti, maintenance supervisor, for receiving the University of Florida Superior Accomplishment Award. Read More

Congratulations to Alexandra Hernandez, graduate student of the Ryan Lab at Whitney Lab, for receiving the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship. Read More

Whitney Lab is seeking volunteers to become oyster gardeners as part of the lab’s oyster restoration initiative. Read More

Spots are still available for the 2018 Sea Turtle Summer Camp. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on April 12, 2018, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Immunotherapy Approaches to Cancer Therapy.” Read More

Please welcome Anna Thornton to Whitney Laboratory! Anna has a Bachelor of Science from Stetson University with a focus in marine biology. In her undergrad career she focused her research on the aerial respiration of the juvenile armored catfish (Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus). Read More

Please welcome Madison Skidmore to Whitney Laboratory! Madison has a Bachelor's in Coastal Environmental Science and a Minor in Education from Flagler College. Read More

Congratulations to the Martindale Lab for the recent article published in Current Biology. Read More

Congratulations to one of Whitney Laboratory's 2017 REU students, Stephanie Neal, on her recent award for Best Student Poster Presentation in the Division of Evolutionary Developmental Biology at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) meeting. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on March 8, 2018, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Future Ready: STEM in Our Schools.” Staff from the St. Johns County School District talked about STEM activities and initiatives that impact students from every level in the school system. Read More

The current issue of Developmental Biology features a cover photo and paper from the Seaver Lab. Read More

The Ryan Lab at Whitney Laboratory observed 2018 Darwin Week last week for the fourth straight year by going out and visiting area schools. Read More

Congratulations to Alexis Lanza and Alex Hernandez for each being honored with an award from the Graduate Student Association of the University of Florida Biology Department. Alexis received the Michael L. May Research Grant for her work titled “Insight into the mechanism of embryonic organizer activity in axis formation of annelids.” Read More

Parking at the Whitney Laboratory campus will be limited due to construction of the Research Village. The Research Village will be complete in winter 2018 and will reopen with additional parking. Please arrive early to lectures and events to allow time to find a place to park. Read More

Please welcome Elisabeth Carter to Whitney Laboratory! Elisabeth Carter is a first-year PhD student at the University of Florida, and has joined Dr. Christine Schnitzler’s lab here at Whitney Laboratory. Elisabeth is originally from Georgia and received her BS from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. Read More

Congratulations to the Liao Lab at Whitney Laboratory for its research being featured in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returns on Feb. 8, 2018, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “From Planarians to Parasites: Stem Cells and Developmental Plasticity in Flatworms.” Read More

Please welcome Kaylee to Whitney Laboratory! Kaylee is a second-year master’s student from the Soil and Water Sciences Department. She is joining Dr. Osborne’s lab as a graduate student until summer of 2018. Read More

Please welcome Julia Ramon to Whitney Laboratory! Julia is a recently graduated biologist student coming from Barcelona who is joining Dr. Martindale’s lab as a research scholar for the next seven months. Read More

David Mallett will perform at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20 at Lohman Auditorium at Whitney Lab as part of the Gamble Rogers Concert Series. Larry Magnum will open the concert. Tickets are available at www.gamblerogersfest.org. Singer-songwriter David Mallett, is one of America’s true original troubadours. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returns with the program titled “Native Bees of North America: Who Are They, What Do They Do and How Can We Conserve Them?” on Jan. 11, 2018, at 7 p.m. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Linlin Zhang to Whitney Laboratory! Linlin is an evolutionary biologist fascinated by animal diversity. Her research combines both experimental and computational approaches to investigate molecular genetic mechanisms of phenotypic divergence and adaptation. Read More

Whitney Laboratory has several new faces this Fall! Please take a moment to read about our newest colleagues below, and join me in welcoming them to Whitney. Welcome, newcomers! Read More

Whitney Lab Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience Barbara Battelle published an invited review in the Biological Bulletin’s Virtual Symposium: New Insights from Genetic Data Sets on the Function and Evolution of Visual Systems. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on Dec. 14, 2017, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Transformation and Conservation: Climate Change, Plant Diversity and the Southern Landscape.” Pamela Soltis, distinguished professor and curator of molecular systematics and evolutionary genetics in the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida Read More

Congratulations to the Moroz Lab at Whitney Lab for being awarded a grant from the Human Frontier Science Program. This highly prestigious four-year international program will study genomic bases of morphological innovations in Cephalopod mollusks. These “primates of the sea” include octopuses, squids, nautilus and their kins. Read More

A groundbreaking ceremony for the Research Village at the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience took place on Dec. 2, 2017, from 11 a.m. to noon on the Whitney Laboratory campus, 9505 Ocean Shore Blvd. Remarks were made by members of the Whitney Research Village Trustee Committee, Chair of the Whitney Trustee Board Kate Rowe and University of Florida Provost Joseph Glover. Read More

Join researchers, resource management agencies, and students for 1.5 days of cutting-edge marine science at the 2018 North Florida Marine Science Symposium on January 25-26, 2018 at the Whitney Laboratory. Read More

Dr. Otar Akanyeti (former Postdoctoral & Research Faculty of the Liao Lab, now faculty at Aberystwyth University, UK) and Dr. James Liao’s research paper in Journal of Fluid Mechanics focusing on a local Florida Jackfish’s movement was selected for the publication’s cover this month! Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on Nov. 9, 2017, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “The Ever-Evolving Menace of Mosquitoes: Emerging Pathogens and New Technological Control Strategies.” Read More

Congratulations to Leah Dannenberg for successfully defending her master’s degree! Leah is a graduate student in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at the University of Florida with Elaine Seaver as her mentor. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Paul Linser, professor of anatomy and cell biology, neuroscience, microbiology and cell science, entomology, and biology at Whitney Laboratory, for his work as editor in chief of a special edition of IJERPH Read More

Congratulations to University of Florida Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience, Genetics, Biology and Chemistry Leonid Moroz, members of his lab (Peter Williams, Tatiana P. Moroz, Krishanu Mukherjee) and Gustav Pauley from Florida Museum of Natural History for their recent breakthrough paper Read More

The Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab was featured in the Pelican Post‘s Fall 2017 issue. The article shared information about the hospital’s focus on rehabilitation, research and education. The article also talked about the achievements of the hospital in 2017. Read More

The Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) is hosting a social in partnership with Whitney Laboratory and University of Florida’s Biology Department at First Magnitude Brewing Company located at 1220 S.E. Veitch St. in Gainesville, Fla., on Friday, October 13 at 8 p.m. Read More

An Evening Overlooking the St. Johns River Please join us for an evening of marine science, hors d’oeuvres, beer, wine and the beautiful St. Johns River. Thursday, October 26, 2017 5:30-7:30 p.m. St. Johns River Center 102 North 1st Street Palatka, Florida 32177 RSVP 386-329-0271 celebrate@whitney.ufl.edu Tickets are $50 per person. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on Oct. 12, 2017, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Adventures in History.” Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory’s Dr. Leslie Babonis, postdoctoral research associate, and Dr. Mark Martindale, director, for their recent publication in “EvoDevo” about their work involving the starlet sea anemone. The publication is titled “PaxA, but not PaxC, is required for cnidocyte development in the sea anemone.” Read More

Under the Sea Soiree Fundraiser: Celebrate Biodiversity with the Whitney Lab! Thank you so much for supporting the Lab at the Under the Sea Soiree! We raised over $16,000 and had $9,000 worth of donated items for the auction. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Elaine Seaver, who has a new paper published online in the “Canadian Journal of Zoology.” The paper is a review that arose from an invitation for Dr. Seaver to speak at a symposium called “Spineless tales: development and evolution of invertebrates” co-sponsored by the Canadian Society of Zoologists and Canadian Science Publishing. Read More

Congratulations to Stephanie Neal for being selected as the 2017 Whitney Laboratory REU Program’s poster contest winner. The title of Stephanie’s winning poster is Functional investigation of opsin in Capitella teleta. Stephanie worked with Elaine Seaver, professor of biology at Whitney Laboratory, this summer during the program. Read More

At the Fourth International Congress on Invertebrate Morphology held August 18-23, 2017, in Moscow, Whitney Laboratory is represented by three faculty, including Dr. Mark Martindale, director and professor of biology, Dr. Christine Schnitzler, assistant professor of biology, and Dr. Leonid Moroz, distinguished professor of neuroscience, genetics, biology and chemistry. Read More

The Carl and Marcella Matthaei Ecological Scholarship Fund at the Whitney Laboratory provides support for University of Florida scientists-in-training to have access to the Matanzas River Basin, where we can engage in its biodiversity, ecology and conservation. Read More

Mean Joe Green and Tamatoa were released on Thursday, July 13, 2017, at 1 p.m. at the north end of Crescent Beach. Mean Joe Green stranded on Crescent Beach on Feb. 6, 2016. Joe was cold stunned and suffering from fibropapillomatosis (FP). Read More

This summer marks the 30th year that the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience has welcomed interns for its Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program funded by the National Science Foundation. Read More

This University of Florida story interviews Mark Martindale, director of the Whitney Laboratory, about research on the starlet sea anemone. Genes known to form heart cells in humans and other animals are found in this sea anemone. Read More

The University of Florida Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory is pleased to announce today, on World Sea Turtle Day, that it received a grant starting in May for $18,348 from the Florida Sea Turtle Grants Program, which is funded by the sales of the sea turtle specialty license plate. Read More

Welcome to the 2017 Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) summer interns! Funded by the National Science Foundation, the summer program offers eight students the opportunity to participate in scientific research at Whitney Lab. Read More

We are pleased to announce that the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab released Barnett in Salt Run on June 7, 2017, in Anastasia State Park. A dedicated crowd of sea turtle enthusiasts attended the rainy release to wish Barnett well as he/she went back home. Read More

Whitney Lab “Team Cassiopea,” consisting of Graduate Student Casandra Newkirk, Graduate Student Bailey Steinworth and Postdoctoral Research Associate Leslie Babonis, traveled to the first international Cassiopea Workshop, which was held May 12-14, 2017, on Key Largo. Read More

Whitney Lab participated in the Southeast Regional Society for Developmental Biology Meeting held May 18-20, 2017, at Kennesaw State College in Georgia. The society encompasses seven states in the Southeastern United States. Read More

We are pleased to announce that Periwinkle (or Peri as we affectionately know him) was released on May 23, 2017, at 10 a.m. at the River to Sea Preserve public beach (known as Marineland beach) on World Turtle Day. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on May 18, 2017, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Last Mastodons, Last Mammoths: Life and Times of America’s Latest-surviving Proboscideans.” Read More

We are pleased to announce that Emily Gordon has been named to Whitney Laboratory’s Board of Trustees. Emily brings an abundance of professional and scientific experience as well as a passion for community service to the Board of Trustees. Emily is a Florida Gator. Read More

The Whitney Laboratory Discovery Walk signage is now complete! Enjoy a scenic and educational walk along the Whitney Laboratory shoreline as you visit seven stations. The walk begins at the “Whitney Pond” – where you’ll find out who calls our sea-lab home. Read More

Thank you to the local St. Augustine quilting group for creating a one-of-a-kind marine life quilt for the Whitney Laboratory. The vibrant marine quilt called “Save Our Seas” was made by the eight member quilt bee, which includes Whitney Lab Docents, called See What Develops. Read More

Congratulations to the Liao Lab, which has a new publication in Hearing Research entitled “A non-toxic dose of cobalt chloride blocks hair cells of the zebrafish lateral line.” The work was spearheaded by Dr. William Stewart and aided by Dr. Jacob Johansen, both postdoctoral research associates in the Liao Lab. Read More

We are pleased to announce that 2016 REU student Amber Rock is returning to Whitney Laboratory for two summers through the Choose Development! Fellowship from the Society of Developmental Biology. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. James Liao and Dr. Leonid Moroz, who each received the University of Florida Term Professorship Award from the UF Provost’s Office. The awards are based on assessment of academic accomplishment, and awardees have displayed a distinguished career that places them among the leaders in their discipline. Read More

See you this weekend, April 8, for the Gamble Rogers Concert Series Meeting of the Great Minds. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Whitney Lab Lohman Auditorium. Stop by and enjoy an evening of free Americana music. Read More

The graduate students and postdocs of the UF Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience would like to invite you to our Fifth Annual Science by the Shore Symposium (formerly Biology at the Beach). Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on April 20, 2017, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “One Species, Two Species, Hybrid Species, New Species: Secrets of the Sweetings Pond Seahorse.” Read More

Registration is open for the 2017 summer camps at Whitney Laboratory. There are still spots available for the Marine Biology Camp from June 26-30 and July 10-14. This year’s Sea Turtle Camp is full. Read More

Take a look at this video featuring Whitney Laboratory’s David Duffy, postdoctoral researcher, and Mark Martindale, director, that shares about the Sea Turtle Hospital’s work and research on the fibropapilloma virus found in sea turtles. Read More

Whitney Laboratory Director Mark Martindale and Biodiversity Scientist Francois Michonneau in collaboration with Whitney Laboratory Assistant Professor of Biology Joseph Ryan and Florida Museum of Natural History Curator of Marine Malacology Gustav Paulay received funding from the University of Florida Biodiversity Institute. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on March 16, 2017, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “From Fast to Ultra-Fast: The Biological World of Extreme Movement.” Read More

The Ryan Lab at Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience observed 2017 Darwin Week (Feb. 12-17) for the third straight year by organizing educational events throughout the week. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Lab’s Assistant Professor of Biology Christine Schnitzler for co-authoring a paper in Cell Reports titled An Evolutionarily Conserved SoxB-Hdac2 Crosstalk Regulates Neurogenesis in a Cnidarian. Read More

Thank you to the Paterson Islanders, a First Lego League (FLL) Robotics Team, from Paterson Elementary School in Fleming Island, Florida for their support of the Sea Turtle Hospital. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on Feb. 9, 2017, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “The Living Dead: Metabolic Arrest and the Control of Biological Time.” Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on Jan. 12, 2017, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Why are the Matanzas Inlet and adjacent coastline so dynamic?”. Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Lab’s Associate Professor of Biology Jimmy Liao and his team, William Stewart and Otar Akanyeti, for having a paper selected for the 2016 Journal of Experimental Biology Outstanding Paper Prize Shortlist. Read More

The Whitney Laboratory Research Experience for Undergraduate program (REU), funded by the National Science Foundation, is an opportunity for motivated undergraduate students to participate in scientific research at Whitney Lab. Read More

Congratulations to the recipients of the Barbara A. Battelle Excellence in Scientific Communication Award. Read More

The University of Florida Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab is pleased to announce that it will host its One-Year Anniversary Open House on Dec. 11, 2016, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Whitney Lab campus, 9505 Ocean Shore Blvd. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on Dec. 8, 2016, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Florida’s Coastal Ecosystems and Global Change.” Read More

Thank you to everyone who attended the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab One-Year Anniversary Open House! We appreciate everyone helping us celebrate this important milestone. More than 350 people attended the open house. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on Nov. 17, 2016, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Consequences of Climate Change for the Temperate-Tropical Ecotone.” Read More

The Whitney Oyster Restoration Initiative began its program this past September with 53 oyster gardeners. These citizen scientists hung two oyster habitats filled with baby oysters from their docks and began recording data and watching their babies grow. Read More

Here is an amazing story about the survival of an oyster garden after Hurricane Matthew from one of our dedicated volunteer oyster gardeners, Mary. After Hurricane Matthew, it was so amazing to find one of my gardens and retrieve it during low tide. Read More

The Ecological Society of America SEEDS (Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability) program, which is a mentoring program for college students, hosted a field trip on Nov. 4, 2016, in St. Augustine for a diverse group of students from several institutions in Florida. Read More

In April, University of Florida Whitney Laboratory Sea Turtle Hospital received a grant for $15,000 from the Florida Sea Turtle Grants Program, which is financed by the sales of the sea turtle specialty license plate. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on Oct. 20, 2016, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Understanding Animal History through the Eyes of a DNA Sequencer.” Read More

Last week, members of the Whitney Laboratory team attended the 2016 Meeting of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). The event was held in Long Beach, California. Pictured here from left to right is Anya Jacquez (2016 REU student), Joseph Ryan (Whitney faculty) and Alexandra Hernandez (Whitney Ph.D. student). Read More

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On Sept. 21, 2016, the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab released Sebod, and Nat Geo Wild was there to film the release. Filipe Deandrade was on assignment and shared the release through a live video on the Nat Geo Wild Facebook page. Read More

The Whitney Lecture, an annual event hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, brings renowned scientists to St. Augustine and Gainesville to share significant research and contributions to science. Read More

Dr. Melissa DeBiasse is a new Postdoc in the Ryan Lab Dr. Melissa DeBiasse is an evolutionary ecologist and is interested in the processes that generate biodiversity in the ocean. Her research examines the distribution of genetic and phenotypic variation within and among populations in marine invertebrates. Read More

Dr. Nick Ward joins the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience as a Research Scientist in the Osborne Lab. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. James Liao, associate professor of biology, for being featured in The Scientist. The article talks about Dr. Liao’s sensory research taking place here at Whitney Lab. Read More

Elias received a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Ecology from Seattle Pacific University in 2013. While at SPU, he studied the chemically mediated interactions of sea stars and mussels when exposed to natural borne toxins as consequence of harmful algal blooms with Dr. Ryan Ferrer. Read More

Heather Krumholtz has joined the administration office here at Whitney Laboratory. She will be providing support for the Director of Development & External Relations, Director and Manager of Operations. Read More

We are pleased to announce that the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab released Apollo Squidlips and Major on Sept. 7, 2016, at 11 a.m. near the Apollo Visitor Center at 7611 South Atlantic Ave., New Smyrna Beach. Read More

The Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab is pleased to announce that it is now offering tours on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. Tours are $10 per person, and reservations are required. There is a limit of 10 people per tour. Read More

For one Pedro Menendez High School student, the summer of 2016 was spent learning about environmental conservation right in her own backyard at the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience. Katlyn Dekle, now a high school senior, was the recipient of Whitney Laboratory’s Cliff Townsend Family Fellowship. Read More

Congratulations to all of the 2016 Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) symposium poster presenters. The two winners, Claire Schmidt of the Osborne Lab, and Hannah Palmatary of the Liao Lab, will be attending a fully paid trip to The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting in January 2017 in New Orleans. Read More

We are pleased to announce the Fall 2016 Evenings at Whitney dates and topics. The free lectures are at 7 p.m. at the Lohman Auditorium on the Whitney Laboratory campus. We hope to see you there! Read More

We are pleased to announce that Whitney Faculty Dr. James Liao was granted promotion and tenure by the University of Florida Board of Governors to Associate Professor of Biology. He is now tenured faculty in the University of Florida Biology Department! Read More

Dr. Christine E. Schnitzler joins University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience as Assistant Professor of Biology. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Northwestern University. She then earned her master’s degree in Marine Science from Moss Landing Marine Labs of California State University-Monterey Bay. Read More

The next concert in the Gamble Rogers Concert Series is scheduled for Aug. 13, 2016, at 7 p.m. The Sarah Mac Band will perform at the Lohman Auditorium on the Whitney Laboratory campus. Opening for the Sarah Mac Band will be John Dickie and Mike Elias. Read More

The University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory is seeking volunteers to become oyster gardeners as part of the lab’s oyster restoration initiative. Gardeners will grow, maintain and record data on their oyster habitats for about one year, then return the oysters to the lab for use in restoration projects. Read More

Summer research spotlight: The Matanzas River Basin is a remarkable ecosystem, and the Whitney Lab’s campus is strategically located with easy access to numerous and diverse habitats set out along the Florida coast. Read More

Dr. Elaine Seaver, professor of biology at Whitney Laboratory, recently published a mini-review highlighting current research with her main study organism, Capitella teleta. Read More

The University of Florida Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab is pleased to announce that it released its seventh sea turtle, Banana, on Aug. 24, 2016, at Kelly Park East, 2550 N. Banana River Drive in Merritt Island. Read More

Congrats to Postdoctoral Researcher William Stewart on the article featured as editor’s choice in the Journal of Experimental Biology titled Refuging rainbow trout selectively exploit flows behind tandem cylinders. William recently secured a faculty position at Eastern Florida State College. Read More

Whitney Laboratory’s Todd Osborne was featured in an article published on July 19, 2016, in The St. Augustine Record about his research on mangrove ecosystems and his involvement in the Mangrove & Macrobenthos Conference at Flagler College from July 18-22, 2016. Read More

University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience is pleased to announce that Joan Boyce has joined its Board of Trustees. Boyce has more than 23 years experience in life science publishing, sales, management, editorial leadership and content innovation. Read More

The University of Florida Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Laboratory is pleased to announce that it released Mudpie, a green juvenile sea turtle, on July 13, 2016, in Salt Run at Lighthouse Park in St. Augustine. Read More

Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience would like to extend a warm welcome to the 2016 Doris Duke Conservation Scholars visiting for the summer. While at Whitney Lab, the scholars will be collecting baseline monitoring data at numerous beaches in the area to assess how the shorelines are changing. Read More

On Monday, June 20, 2016, at the River to Sea Preserve beach, the Sea Turtle Hospital at Whitney Lab released Cisco Kid. This was the hospital’s first release of a turtle treated for fibropappilomatosis, which is a disease that causes internal and external tumors to grow on the sea turtle, inhibiting normal functioning. Read More

The Whitney Laboratory Team is pleased to welcome its 2016 REU summer interns. The Research Experience for Undergraduates program (REU), funded by the National Science Foundation, offers an exceptional opportunity for motivated undergraduates to participate in scientific research. Read More

Whitney’s Drs. Barbara Battelle, Joseph Ryan and Karen Kempler along with Dr. Megan Porter from the University of Hawaii, Manoa headed a research team, which included members of the Limulus (American horseshoe crab) Genome Consortium to publish the Limulus genome and a comprehensive analysis of the expression of visual pigments in horseshoe crabs. Read More

The University of Florida Whitney Laboratory Sea Turtle Hospital is now using advanced carbon dioxide laser technology in the treatment of its sea turtle patients that are infected with the Fibropapilloma virus (FP). Read More

Congratulations to Whitney Lab’s Leslie Babonis, postdoctoral research associate, Mark Martindale, Whitney Lab director and professor, and Joseph Ryan, assistant professor of biology, for publishing a paper in BioMed Central titled Do novel genes drive morphological novelty? An investigation of the nematosomes in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Read More

Welcome to Whitney Laboratory, Nicole! Nicole is a senior microbiology major at the University of Florida with a passion for the ocean, science, and surfing. She plans to attend graduate school in pursuit of a degree in biomedical science. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on May 19, 2016, at 7 p.m. with the program titled Building Body Parts: Lessons Learned from Simple Critters. Read More

A volunteer appreciation dinner was hosted on April 22, 2016, at Whitney Laboratory’s CMS building. Read More

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on May 12, 2016, at 7 p.m. with the program titled Historic Trees: The Science Behind the Preservation and Conservation of our Largest Specimens. Read More

Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience is hosting Marine Biology Camp for summer 2016. The camp features learning about biodiversity, fun lab experiments, STEM activities and outdoor field adventures. Two sessions are offered. The first session is from June 20-24. Read More

To save energy, fish use their heads Scientists used to think a fish’s head motions were just a byproduct of swimming. Using 3-D printed fish, University of Florida scientists Otar Akanyeti, James Liao and collaborators at Harvard showed that head motion can make a fish’s movement and respiration more efficient. Read More

(Originally published September 9, 2014) “I was a student before, but now I’m a scientist,” said Veronica Garcia as she packed away the last of her lab materials into boxes. Veronica had completed her PhD research and was now faced with dismantling the remains of her former lab. Read More