Peter McCarthy, PhD (external member for Rebecca Pike's PhD defense) "The Microbial Population of Marine Sponges: a Biotechnological Resource" Date: Friday, August 23, 2013 Location: Lecture Theatre B, AVC Time: 10:00 am Dr. Peter McCarthy was educated in England and received his PhD in microbiology from the University of Kent at Canterbury. He did a post-doctoral fellowship at Smith Kline Beckman and then joined Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in 1985. For the last seven years, Dr. McCarthy has worked as a research professor in the Marine Biomedical and Biotechnology Research group of Florida Atlantic University. Projects taking place in his lab include the identification of the symbiotic microbes present in deep-water marine sponges and the development of novel isolation methods to increase the numbers of microbes that can be cultured. This has resulted in the development of an extensive culture collection currently numbering over 19,000 isolates. The group works closely with the Marine Natural Products Chemistry group in the isolation and identification of chemicals produced by these unusual microbes with the goal of discovering new therapies for cancer and infectious diseases. New initiatives taking place in his lab include: the discovery of novel enzymes produced by marine microbes and their use in addressing biotechnological aspects of fuel generation and the investigation of methods to cultivate the pathogenic fungus Lacazia loboi. Everyone welcome!