Melbourne R. Carriker Student Research Grantalt

The Melbourne R. Carriker Student Research Grant is a competitive grant that is awarded annually to recognize a student's excellence in the area of shellfish research. The Melbourne R. Carriker Student Research Grant is named in honor of one of the Association's most distinguished past Presidents and the person who formalized the regular publication of the society meeting notes as the Proceedings of the National Shellfisheries Association (Click here to read an interview with Dr. Carriker from the Rugters Oral History Archives). The award is a competitive grant program to which NSA student members can apply for a $1,250 grant for non-travel related expenses associated with undertaking their Master's thesis or Ph.D. dissertation research. The award is granted once per year with applications due November 1 each year. Click here for application information.  Not a student member of the NSA?  Join now.

 

Grant Recipients

Grant Proposal Title:
 
Allison Weber
 

(2025) Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Department of Life Sciences.

 
  Population genetics of Crassostrea virginica within a Texas hybrid zone
Madeline Eppley

(2024) Northeastern University, Marine and Environmental Science.

Revealing 25 years of genomic evolution in the eastern oyster using preserved histology samples
Anna Poslednik

(2023) Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, Aquatic Health Sciences Department.

Genetic perspective on the phenotypic evolution of the marine parasite Perkinsus marinus
Tyler Griffin

(2021) University of Connecticut, Department of Marine Sciences.

Functional analysis of the bivalve gut microbiome: experimental perturbations and contribution to detoxification of pesticides
Samuel Gurr

(2020) University of Rhode Island, Biological and Environmental Sciences Program.

Potential for intragenerational pCO2 conditioning of juvenile Pacific geoduck Panopea      

Erin Roberts

(2019) University of Rhode Island, Biological and Environmental Sciences Program.

The role of apoptosis phenotype and gene expression in eastern oyster disease resistance.
Alyssa Outhwaite

(2018) University of Dayton, Biology.

 Cracking the shell: an investigation of shell repair in the oyster, Crassostrea virginica.
Laura Spencer

(2017) University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences.

Transgenerational inheritance of epigenetic adaptability to dual climate stressors in oysters.
Carrie Schuman

(2016) University of Florida.

Estimating In situ oyster filtration rates and subsequent control of primary production in the Guana Tolamato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM NERR), St. Augustine, FL.
Maria Rosa

(2015) University of Connecticut, Department of Marine Sciences.

Katherine Silliman

(2015) University of Chicago, Evolutionary Biology.

Mechanisms of particle selection and retention in suspension-feeding bivalve molluscs.

 

Population genomics and physiogeography in Ostrea lurida.
Keri Lydon

(2014) University of Georgia, College of Public Health.

 Triclosan pollution impacts on intrinsically resistant Vibrios: Understanding risk in shellfish populations.
Emily W. Grayson

(2013) University of Washington.

Risk-recognition and behavior plasticity in invasive oyster drills.
Brian Cheng

(2012) University of California, Bodega Marine Laboratory.

Climate change and species Interactions in an estuarine community.
Ashlee Lillis

(2011) North Carolina State University, Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

Underwater noise as an orientation and settlement cue for estuarine larval invertebrates.
Joshua Moody

(2010) Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution.

The relationship between ribbed mussel (Geukensia demissa) density and salt marsh shoreline erosion.
Mickael Perrigault

(2009) State Unviersity of New York, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.

Comparative study of two defensins from Mercenaria mercenaria: recombinant production and gene expression after challenge with bacterial and protistan pathogens.
Nature McGinn

(2008) University of California, Bodega Marine Laboratory.

Environmental contaminants and the multixenobiotic resistance system in model marine invertebrates.
Helene Hegaret

(2007) University of Connecticut, Department of Marine Sciences.

Effect of harmful algae and parasites on protein expression in bivalve molluscs using a new proteomic technology.
Dane Frank

(2006) University of Connecticut, Department of Marine Sciences.

An experimental approach to elucidate functional mechanisms of control in the bivalve pump.
Daniel Spooner

(2005) University of Oklahoma.

Eco-physiology and ecological function of freshwater mussel assemblages in southern streams.
Coren Milbury

(2004) University of Delaware's College of Marine Studies.

Development of high-throughput genetic techniques for the assessment of restoration efforts using hatchery-produced oysters.
Carol Rosetta

(2003) University of Connecticut, Department of Marine Sciences.

Effects of Chattonella spp. on commercially important bivalve molluscs.
Maille Lyons

(2001) University of Connecticut, Department of Marine Sciences.

The trophic fate of organic aggregates filtered by suspension feeding bivalves.
Megan Stewart

(2000) Leigh Marine Laboratory, Warkworth, New Zealand.

Impact of habitat change on cockle populations in New Zealand.
Gwynne Day Brown

(1999) Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary.

Identification, characterization and expression levels of serine protease gene(s) among cultured isolates of Perkinsus marinus.
Rondi Butler

(1998, inaugural year) Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland.

Investigation into a relationship between metallothionein (MT) gene expression and the immunotoxicity of cadmium in hemocytes from the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica.