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CMOP Student Awarded Oregon Sea Grant Malouf Scholarship
10/12/12 Portland, Ore.
Rachel Golda is the recipient of the Robert E. Malouf Marine Studies Scholarship, awarded annually to a graduate student of an Oregon University System institution to support work that is compatible with the mission of Oregon Sea Grant, which Malouf directed.
Rachel Golda collects samples from a recent red water bloom in the Columbia River estuary. Golda is a student in the Center for Coastal Margin Observation & Prediction (CMOP) and working towards a Ph.D. in Environmental Science & Engineering at OHSU’s Division of Environmental & Biomolecular Systems. Her area of research, with her advisors Tawnya Peterson, Ph.D. and Joseph Needoba, Ph.D., is the influence of ocean acidification on estuarine primary production and bloom phenology in the northern California Current System.
Golda will use the award to determine how ocean acidification influences population dynamics and toxin production of Alexandrium, a dinoflagellate genus capable of producing saxitoxin, an extremely potent neurotoxin with a long environmental residence time. Her work will help scientists gain a better understanding of the relationship between ocean acidification and harmful algal blooms.
“I also plan to combine this project with my dedication to societally relevant research to generate new opportunities for the community,” Golda said. “As part of my research I plan to mentor both high school student interns and undergraduate interns through CMOP’s summer internship program.”
Oregon Sea Grant, founded in 1968, supports research, education, and public outreach to help people understand, responsibly use, and conserve ocean and coastal resources.
The Robert E. Malouf scholarship honors Malouf’s career and contributions to the Oregon Sea Grant College Program. Malouf was the director of Oregon Sea Grant from 1991 until his retirement in 2008.
Golda earned her masters degree in environmental science and engineering from OHSU and an undergraduate degree in biology from Saint Martin’s University. She spent last summer in a summer course on microbial oceanography at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
