Shanelle Haughton will be an inaugural participant in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s José E. Serrano Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions Graduate Fellowship Program pilot. The federal agency’s Office of Education selected the doctoral student in UMES’ Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Sciences graduate program for the honor. Serrano is a retired congressman who spent his career “supporting equal opportunity, education and economic prosperity of underrepresented communities.”
Haughton, one of three graduate students selected for the pilot program, will spend a year conducting collaborative research at the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center based in Seattle, Washington. Her fellowship research, “Evaluating the Physiological and Immune Responses of Tanner Crabs (Chinoecetes bairdi) to Hematodinium sp. Infection,” involving use of tools like immunological assays, gene expression analysis and bioinformatics will be conducted under the mentorship of Dr. Ingrid Spies. Haughton previously worked with a researcher at the center, Dr. Pamela Jensen, on her required NOAA Experiential Research and Training Opportunity project titled, “Understanding Hematodinium sp. in Alaskan Crabs: New Hosts, Improved Detection and Health Effects in a Changing Ocean.”
The new fellowship is designed to serve as a future workforce pipeline to supply NOAA with a diverse group of qualified students currently supported at the four EPP/MSI Cooperative Science Centers, of which UMES is one. The centers partner with 24 additional universities training students in the core NOAA mission fields, including coastal and marine ecosystems; living marine resources; atmospheric sciences and meteorology; and earth system sciences and remote sensing technology.
“I am excited about these fellowships,” said NOAA Education Director Louisa Koch. “NOAA has been partnering with the Cooperative Science Centers for more than 20 years, and now we are adding an important new way to connect with these talented students.”
“During my tenure as an EPP/MSI graduate fellow, I will strive to enhance my professional network at NOAA, as well as seek opportunities for collaboration with NOAA scientists in an effort to further my contributions to NOAA’s mission,” Haughton said.
Haughton said she plans to take “full advantage of the unique opportunities that this fellowship provides” and is looking forward to participating in “NOAA meetings and seminars exclusive to NOAA scientists …to take advantage of networking opportunities and develop a better understanding of (its) work culture.”
“For me,” she said, “the EPP/MSI Graduate Fellowship is my steppingstone to becoming a part of the NOAA workforce.”
