Sam Gurr, PhD.

Education:

• 2021 PhD. Biological and Environmental Sciences - University of Rhode Island
• 2017 M.S. Marine Science - Stony Brook University
• 2014 B.S. Marine Biology - University of New Haven

Professional History:

• 2021 - Present: National Research Council Post-Doctoral Associate
• 2017 - 2018: Research Consultant, Autodesk

Sam is motivated to understand the rules of life that allow organisms to persist in our ever-changing world. Coastal marine molluscs are ideal models due to their semi-sessile lifestyle and habitat amidst a multitude of anthropogenic challenges. As part of Sam's doctoral research, he worked alongside growers in the shellfish aquaculture industry to investigate techniques for hatchery enhancement. He used bioinformatic tools to understand the influence of early-life 'programming windows' when acclimation, or priming/hormesis, can buffer against subsequent environmental change.

Molecular adjustments (i.e. gene expression, genetic and non-genetic variation, etc.) affecting phenotype are potentially transient, dynamic, and interdependent and remain poorly understood. As a postdoctoral associate at Milford, Sam will use multi-omics data to understand the molecular machinery underpinning environmental resilience within and across generational timescales in bay scallops.

Find out more about Sam's work on ResearchGate and Github