Michele Wrabel
Education
- B.A. Smith College magna cum laude with Highest Honors in Biological Sciences, 1997.
- Member of Sea Education Association's SEA Semester, 1996.
- Graduate student in Biological Oceanography at the University of Washington, 2004-present.
- AmeriCorps member, Perry Point, MD, and Greenfield, MA, 1997-1999. Community service projects, primarily tutoring and mentoring middle and high school youth.
- Independent middle and high school tutor, Eugene, OR, 1999-2001.
- Trace metals chemist, Brooks Rand, Seattle, WA, 2002-2004.
My research contributes to the Pacific Northwest Center for Human Health and Ocean Studies, a multidisciplinary collaboration that began at the University of Washington in 2004. A group of oceanographers, public health researchers, and other scientists, we seek to understand one type of harmful algal bloom that occurs in Washington State waters and worldwide. Marine diatoms of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia produce domoic acid, a neurotoxin that is biomagnified by shellfish that feed on these phytoplankton; in humans who consume these shellfish, the toxin can produce Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP). Biomagnification of domoic acid occurs throughout the food web, causing neurological disorders in birds and sea lions. Domoic acid outbreaks have been documented along the Pacific Coast of Washington since the early 1990s, and more recently in Puget Sound in 2003 and 2005.
Within the Center, I am a member of the Toxic Algae Project, which examines environmental, genetic, and physiological mechanisms controlling domoic acid toxicity of Pseudo-nitzschia. I am investigating the bacteria associated with these diatoms. Previous laboratory research has found enhanced toxicity of Pseudo-nitzschia in the presence of bacteria, but the nature of this interaction is not well characterized. I am using Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA) to assess bacterial diversity and identify bacterial ecotypes associated with laboratory Pseudo-nitzschia cultures and field samples from Puget Sound. More broadly, I am interested in interactions that have evolved between marine phytoplankton and their attached bacteria.
Outside of my own schooling, I volunteer with the Seattle Girls' School, a middle school that emphasizes science, math, and technology through an integrated curriculum.
Publications
Wrabel, M.L. and Peckol, P. 2000. Effects of bioremediation on toxicity and chemical composition of No. 2 fuel oil: growth responses of the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus. Marine Pollution Bulletin 40(2): 135-139.