Welcome to the NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center, headquartered at UMES. Along with seven partner institutions, we train and graduate highly-qualified students in marine science for careers in research, management, and public policy that support the sustainable harvest and conservation of our nation’s marine resources.
Our student fellows earn access to top tier academic programs, expert mentors, peer support, and a vast network of alumni to help them achieve their academic and career goals.
Dr. Paulinus Chigbu, Director of the LMRCSC
Who benefits?
Many stakeholders benefit from the cooperative science center, including highly qualified students who require financial support and will be competitive contenders in the global workforce upon graduation. The Center also offers mentor training to our university partners and to members of the NOAA workforce who wish to host student interns during summer field research. The LMRCSC’s Data Portal and publications in major journals give professionals in fisheries management, policy makers, and the greater science community access to our students’ and faculty research findings.
Our Impact
Since its formation, more than 40 LMRCSC graduates have gone on to work for NOAA, and many others have taken roles in alignment with the NOAA Mission. These graduates enter the agency having already developed NOAA-specific skills, connections, and an awareness of processes and procedures that would have accounted for months or years of training.
Without sustained investment, NOAA risks a reduction in qualified and trained fisheries scientists ready to address the challenges faced by domestic and global fisheries. This shortage could affect our food supply and many domestic coastal economies.
Our research, from internship projects completed in partnership with NOAA labs to our graduates’ theses and dissertations have contributed new and much-needed scientific information to the benefit of our local and national economies.
Our Success Stories
LMRCSC Alums Awarded Knauss Fellowship
Congratulations to two NOAA LMRCSC alumni Teemer Barry (New Jersey Sea Grant), and Jamon Jordan (Oregon Sea Grant) on their selection as 2026 Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Finalists!
LMRCSC, NOAA collab fuels Antarctic research
Collaborative research is a key tenant of the LMRCSC II, and few scientists exemplify that better than Carolina Bonin Lewallen, Ph.D., and Douglas Krause, Ph.D.
Internship Accomplishments
In the summer of 2025, LMRCSC Masters Fellow and Hampton University student Jahlen Pinelo worked at the the NOAA Cooperative Oxford Lab in Maryland on her NERTO, “Pathogen forecasting and genetic research of Vibrio bacteria.” Under the mentorship of Ava Ellett and Rose Adelizzi, and Dr. Jeanette Davis (Hampton University), Jahlen assisted with the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) pathogen forecasting portfolio. One of her tasks was filtering water samples, which will be used to validate the model’s predictions of Vibrio concentrations in the Chesapeake Bay.
In the summer of 2025, LMRCSC Master’s Fellow and University of Maryland Eastern Shore student Lydia Clark interned at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, MA, under the mentorship of Brian Smith and her academic advisor, Dr. Paulinus Chigbu. Her NERTO project was titled, “Examining trophic interactions to explain common trends in Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) abundance.”
Need Data?
NOAA LMRCSC fellows and faculty conduct pioneering research. Through our Data Portal, students, scientists, and the greater public can access what we’ve learned and expand on it for the benefit of the greater science community.
Fellows and faculty: click here to access the LMRCSC’s internal website on ISpring.
NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center
University of Maryland Eastern Shore (Lead Institution)
(410) 651-7870
Award numbers: FY 2021 Award #NA21SEC4810005
Funding Agency: NOAA Educational Partnership Program (EPP/MSI)
